


Gravida, or How Kili Saved the Day

by Ilostmymarbles



Series: The Adventures of a Young Prince [1]
Category: The Hobbit (2012), The Hobbit - All Media Types, The Hobbit - J. R. R. Tolkien
Genre: Alternate Canon, M/M, Mpreg
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-03-03
Updated: 2013-05-11
Packaged: 2017-12-04 04:40:05
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 22
Words: 42,506
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/706661
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ilostmymarbles/pseuds/Ilostmymarbles
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The Dragon Sickness has taken over Thorin's mind and the Company are now on a course  to disaster. Is there anyone, or anything that can snap him out of it and save all their lives?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Dragon Sickness

**Author's Note:**

> HI everyone!! :: Waves like a crazy lady:::  
> The Thorin/Bilbo stuff may take a while to get going but it will be there eventually I promise.  
> This is my first fanfic so constructive critisism is very welcome and I hope you enjoy!

Chapter 1: The Dragon Sickness

‘.... but Thorin, consider the consequences. We are but 14, there is no-way we can beat two armies!’

‘This is our Gold! The Gold of our ancestors! we’ve earned it, we’ll fight for it and if we die, we’ll die to protect it!!’ He raged, madness giving a frenzied vigour to his motions as he paced across the floor, turning back he said with certainty of one who believed absolutely that he was in the right, ‘No Balin, there will be no dealing with either men or elves unless one of you can give me an absolutely irrefutable reason’ 

Uneasy, the dwarves of the company avoided their leaders fuming eyes. The floor suddenly became utterly fascinating as 13 pairs of eyes stared down at it, some shifting from foot to foot like worried children as they tried to think of a reason that wouldn’t incite their leaders manic rage. A difficult task when the fact that it would kill them all wasn’t considered a valid answer. None wished to fight the Men and Elves but Thorin had decided. He was their King and they had sworn to follow him. If Thorin’s closest relatives and the highest nobles in their group could not persuade him to change his mind then how could they hope to influence him? 

They were standing in the Treasure Room, the stench of Dragon still permeating the air. They were surrounded by piles of gold that they could not eat and precious jewels that could not defend them from the armies camped outside their mountain. The dwarves halted in their work building the barricades to watch as Balin once again tried to convince Thorin to be reasonable, hoping beyond hope that he could break through the lunacy that had over taken the King.

The answer to their hopes came from the most unexpected of places.

‘I’m Pregnant’

Everyone froze. Astonished they turned to stare at the speaker, silence hanging heavily in the air.

‘I beg your pardon?’ Thorin asked, so astonished he was actually polite for once.

Kili’s adams apple bobbed as he swallowed nervously but he met his Uncle’s eyes and repeated, ‘I’m a Bearer, and I’m pregnant’ 

Summoning every bit of his courage, he moved closer to his Uncle. ‘I wasn’t sure until recently but I know for certain now. We’ll need food, Uncle, proper food and we’ll need the Men of the Dale to provide it. Please, for my sake and that of my child, make peace with Bard.’

He placed is uncle’s unresisting hand and placed it on his stomach ‘Here... can you feel him?’  
Thorin’s wide-eyed gaze dropped to the cloth covering Kili’s slightly swollen tummy. Extending his senses he felt the spark of life under his palm.

‘Uncle please, I can’t feed a baby on naught but gold’ Kili implored desperately, knowing that this was the crucial moment, that if he played this right they could salvage this crazy situation and save all of their lives.

Children are valued by all races but especially so by Dwarves. They had so few and their population grew so slowly that every child is considered extraordinarily precious. They were loved, cuddled, petted, coddled and protected to the point of being completely smothered. Their mothers honoured and vaunted as much as the greatest warriors. The urge to defend and care for a child was so strong in Dwarves that it was legendary. 

‘How??... how did this even happen?’ He gaped, all anger forgotten. 

‘In the normal manner I’d expect’ came the wry answer from Balin, who had gathered his thoughts faster than the others, drawing a huff of tense laughter from the assembled company. 

This drew a glare from Thorin that shut them all up quickly, their gaze returning to their feet. Still, it was a softer glare then they’d recently been receiving as Thorin pulled himself together. His mind reeled, a Bearer in his family? It must be a sign from Mahal.

In a way it was a valid question. Males able to carry children, known as Bearers, were once a common feature of Dwarven society. The differences between their genders being so small that classification into male & female had been always been a bit of a grey area. Mahal, when he created them, had been a bit woolly on how the children of Iluvatar were supposed to work and so he’d made his originals only male. Later he had realised that for his children to continue he had to provide them with a method of procreating, giving his favourites of the seven fathers the ability to conceive and then giving them female children. 

He had, however, neglected to mention this to them at the time. To say that they were somewhat shocked at suddenly getting pregnant would have been a bit of an understatement.

Over the millennia, the number of Bearers had steadily diminished to the point of scarcity. It had been almost 500 years since the last time a male had born a child. Most Dwarves believed that the ability had likely died out with the enormous loss of lives at Erebor and Azanulbizar. Bearers, you see, were known for their especially ferocious desire to secure a suitable home, even if they were unaware of the fact they could carry a child. 

Blinking, Thorin stood straight and removed his hand from where it rested on Kili’s belly. The company collectively held their breath.

Would this be enough? Could this possibly break through the Dragon Sickness that had consumed the mind of their leader?


	2. Chapter Two

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hurrah for the longer chapter!! I'm trying to make them a better length but it appears my mind works in distinct small chunks.
> 
> Writing this darker stuff is suprisingly difficult. The happy stuff comes rather easily but this one chapter was a toughy.
> 
> btw, not beta read. Though i'd appreciate if anyone wanted to volunteer themselves/point out any errors i've made.

At least they didn’t have to wait for long. Decisive as ever, Thorin had made his choice quickly.

‘You will stay in the inner chambers, we cannot have you fighting, the risk is too great. You will stay within and we will protect you. Fili! Take your brother to one of the bedrooms and guard him there, Dwalin see that barriers are erected outside his room, the rest of you, ON WITH YOUR WORK!’

The company’s shoulders dropped as one, the hope that had started to build punctured by one statement. Unhappily they turned back to trying to make rotten old furniture into a barricade that would last more than five minutes.

It hadn’t worked. Kili felt his failure hit him like a blow to the chest. He hadn’t saved the situation, if anything he had made it worse by depriving the company of two of their strongest fighters. He felt his brothers hand clamp around his upper arm and begin to pull in the direction of the old living quarters. The thought of being trapped in a room, unable to help defend his family was horrifying. He and Fili had always fought together, back to back. It was something they were so accustomed to that when they were apart they had a bad tendency to forget the other wasn’t around to guard their back. Kili knew he couldn’t let that happen, he would be lost without his beloved brother. In a final act of desperation, he tore free of his brothers grip and flung himself at his Uncle’s feet.

‘No, no Uncle don’t do this! Please don’t just lock me away. Fili can’t protect me on his own Uncle, please just make peace, I beg of you!’

This deed, kneeling in front of his uncle and begging, was an extraordinary act of submission for a Prince of the Line of Durin, especially of one as headstrong and proud as Kili who even Thorin occasionally struggled to keep in line. 

Wilful and stubborn, Kili forged his own path through life. From refusing to braid his hair (the weight of those stupid things always pulling and tugging) to favouring the bow over the sword (why not be as far away from your enemy as possible when you are trying to kill them?) he had cheerfully completely ignored much of what he considered the more ridiculous dwarven traditions (bowing to a roasted pig on midsummer’s eve anyone?). Confident in himself and his abilities he had never let the disapproving looks and censorious mutterings (fusty judgemental old fools) stop him from doing precisely as he pleased.

He also never, ever cried. Even as a baby he’d been far too busy being happy to bother with tears. Falling over and busting your knees was a part of the fun and the pitiful attempts at bullying inflicted on him by some of the other children slid off him like water over a ducks back, he was a Durin, their opinions held no meaning to him.

Only two people in his life had ever made him tear up and that was his brother and his Uncle. Both occasions were particularly painful memories he didn’t like to think of.

Thorin looked down into his nephew’s tearful, frantic face. To see his Kili, his beautiful nephew, who’d worshipped his Uncle and hadn’t cried since he was ten, so distressed at his actions finally broke something inside him. Had he really caused this? Had the sickness that corrupted his Grandfather and killed his father nearly taken him too? Horrified, his mind cleared for the first time in days and realization of what he had almost done began to sink in. 

He fell to his knees as the full weight of his actions hit him. Gathering his beloved boy into his arms he cradled Kili’s face against his shoulder and tenderly wiped his tears away, whispering soothing words of comfort until Kili quietened.

Heaving a weary sigh, he called Balin over to them.

‘Balin, send word for Bard to come to the Mountain, say that we will negotiate with him the rebuilding of the Dale and the restoration of his people’s treasure.’

A deep bow and a ‘Yes, Your Majesty’ was Balin’s only answer. 

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Balin returned a lot faster than expected.

‘My Lord!’ gasping, Balin skidded to a halt in front of the king. 

‘There are goblins coming, orcs and goblins, whole armies of them! The elves spotted them coming over the western pass. Thranduil’s army and the Men make ready to defend themselves’

‘Everyone arm yourselves! we make ready for war! Fili, look to your brother, Balin, has there been any sign of Dain?’ Thorin marched off to begin preparations. 

‘Fili, I will need to go to the armoury to get a bow and some arrows’ Kili said determinedly, striding off to the armoury in a manner remarkably reminiscent of his uncle.

In his haste, he missed the significant glances exchanged between the other dwarves and the key that was surreptitiously slid into Fili’s hand. In fact, he only noticed something was off when he was abruptly shoved sideways into an anti-chamber before he reached his destination. Spinning around he was not quite fast enough to reach the door before Fili slammed it shut and locked it from the outside.

‘FILI NO!, Fili please don’t do this!’ He pulled as the handle with all his strength and scrabbled frantically at the lock. 

‘I’m sorry my brother, it’s for the best. Forgive me’ was the only answer he got.  
‘Fili! I’ll not forgive you for this! Let me out!!, Fili!...FILI!!’

This time there was no reply. 

‘How dare they! How dare they just disregard his wishes like that.’ 

A few chairs met a swift end against the door. 

‘It was his body and his child and he, and he alone, would decide what risks he would take.’ 

The table also went to join it’s brethren as splinters scattered across the floor. 

Taking a breath he glared ferociously at the slab of stone that was keeping him from his family. 

Seeing that trying to smash the lock to smithereens would be useless (if very satisfying), Kili sat down to have a think. 

The solution came to him in a flash of inspiration. Kili smiled, he knew that making friends with Nori would eventually prove itself useful.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

A few hours later Kili had finally managed to pick the lock. It had taken him a lot longer then he’d expected but at last he was out of that little prison. Oddly, there had been no guard outside the door, a fact that worried him enormously. Things must really not be going well for him to be left alone.

Hurrying to the armoury he snatched up the nearest bow in his size and as many arrows as he could manage.

Running as fast as he could across the halls he took a wrong turning in his haste and, instead of emerging at Ground Level he found himself on the large, scorched balcony above the main entrance. It had been badly damaged from Smaug’s entry all those years ago but was still mostly intact. 

Deciding to scope out the situation before charging in heedlessly Kili went to the edge to look over the battle field. 

What he saw made him realise why they had tried to keep him away. It was carnage. Corpses of men, elves and dwarves lay like a carpet over the land and the sounds of clashing blades and the screams of the dying pierced his ears. Given the number of Dwarven bodies lying on the floor Dain’s forces must have arrived as Kili was freeing himself.

More than anything it was smell that got him. Even from up here, he could smell the blood of the injured and the rotten stench of the Orcs and Goblins. It filled his increasingly sensitive nose and made his stomach turn over.

Holding his breath so he didn’t retch Kili braved another look out over the battle field, frantically trying to find his loved ones. Scanning desperately, he finally located Fili’s golden hair among the darker shades and finally a stroke of luck, for he was right next to Thorin.

Rather unluckily, they were both being beaten backwards by Azog and his mangy White Warg. Things were not looking good. Though, mysterious wounds kept appearing on the back of Azog’s legs, as if inflicted by an invisible foe. Kili didn’t take the time to ponder this odd occurrence, except that it was distracting Azog enough for Thorin to get a few good strikes in himself while Fili concentrated on dealing with the warg.

He was almost about to turn and run down to the entrance to throw himself into battle before a sudden realisation hit him.

Azog was in range of his bow.

He was so focussed on Thorin that he wasn’t bothering to try and guard from arrow fire and he’d never expect it to come from this angle. It was an opportunity he couldnt afford to miss. Literally. 

Kili prepared the bow, fitted an arrow, took a deep breath and fired.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Evil cliff hanger is evil. Mwahahah! 
> 
> You'll be pleased to know that there is another 4000 or so words of this already written. I think the next chapter is close to being ready, then chapter 8ish and the epilogue (who ever said you had to write things in order lied)


	3. Chapter Three

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Wherein we finally get to see what happened next.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the wait! Real life has an annoying habit of getting in the way of my writing time. Next chapter should be up a lot faster!
> 
> Enjoy x.

He stood, looking down upon his Uncle’s strangely still figure. Arrayed in the finest clothes that could be scrounged after the battle he looked incredibly majestic, even when laid out like a corpse. 

The clothes covered the large white bandages Kili knew were holding his Uncle’s shattered chest together as well has hiding the huge expanse of blackened bruising across the entire front of his body. 

They were mighty wounds, something not many could survive. They were the sort of injuries that would have completely disabled any Man, Elf or Dwarf but Kili’s Uncle was made of far sterner stuff. So stern, in fact, that despite the punctured lung and broken ribs he was still determinedly giving Kili a piece of his mind.

Kili’s arrow had flown true and speared Azog right in the eye, gouging deep into his brain and killing him instantly. Unfortunately, his freshly dispatched carcass fell forward when he died. Right on top of Thorin who, exhausted, had not been able to get out of the way in time. 

He’d been squashed.

It would have been funny if the consequences hadn’t been so serious. 

Thorin had been out cold for almost a week.

Balin had taken over control of Erebor while Thorin had been unconscious. With Kili’s backing as the only heir left on his feet and Dwalin’s intimidating presence, between them they’d just about managed to keep Dain from claiming command. It wasn’t as though Dain would necessarily be a bad leader at a time like this. However, they all knew that if he got his backside on that throne, even for a short while, it would have been very difficult to get him off it again. Most Dwarves coveted gold but Dain was more like a Human. He coveted power. 

That had been half the reason he had refused to come on the quest when invited. Dain hadn’t wanted to help Thorin become his superior again. Thorin had always born the title Prince, whereas Dain was just a Lord, something he had long resented. However, the loss of Erebor had weakened Thorin’s position severely, making Dain the most influential and powerful Dwarf of the Line of Durin for some time. Though Dain had offered help to his stricken relatives, he had also thoroughly enjoyed his sudden elevation and wanted it to continue as long as possible. This he could do if he managed to usurp the Throne while Thorin wasn’t in any state to prevent him.

Normally, Fili would have taken over for his Uncle. Despite his young age, Fili had been well trained in the art of politics and made a capable second in command while Thorin was away. He was everything you could want in a Crown Prince but he’d taken a nasty bite to his arm during the fight with the White Warg and it hadn’t taken long for infection to set in. His fever quickly soared and he’d spent the last week in bed alternatively terrifyingly still or completely delirious. 

Luckily, the skill of the elves had ensured that both he and Thorin would survive. In the face of losing both of his closest relatives Kili had let go of his pride long enough to ask for Thranduil’s help, offering a share of the gold in the hope of getting aid. With unexpected grace Thranduil had agreed to help, not even trying to negotiate an increase in the amount of treasure offered. Once Thorin and Fili were out of danger he’d left with his portion of gold, leaving two healers behind to finish the treatment.

It had been a difficult and stressful few weeks to say the least. 

It didn’t help that the first words out of Thorin’s mouth when he woke up were ‘Where is Kili?’

He’d come to his uncle’s side as fast as he was able but between helping Balin run Erebor, keeping Dain from constantly trying to subvert him and seeing to Fili, it’d had taken a rather long time to make it. Thus giving Thorin plenty of time to work himself into a right old temper. Dwalin had filled him in on what had happened while he’d been comatose and the wait for Kili had given him plenty of time to think.

It was odd how Thorin’s lectures could still have so much impact on him when the man couldn’t even get out of bed. Kili, being unhurt, could have just turned around and walked out the door and there wasn’t a damned thing Thorin could have done about it. 

Not in the short term at least. 

Yet somehow Kili’s feet stayed planted in place, like someone had glued them onto the floor. His Uncle’s tirade washing over his head, Kili stood to attention. Though he looked suitably chastened, he wasn’t really listening, his Uncle’s rants tended to follow a very distinct pattern that went something like this:

‘KILI!!!’...’ How could you (insert latest escapade)?’ ’What were you thinking??’...(not much to be honest) ... ‘Don’t you understand the consequences of your behaviour?’ ..::Angry Scowl::.. ‘....Line of Durin’... Yadda yadda...’...Reputation to maintain’... blah...’...So disappointed, Go to your room!’

Once you’d heard one, you’d heard them all. Normally, there wasn’t any need to pay much attention except to keep an appropriately serious face as his Uncle flung himself around the room gesticulating. Not that Thorin could move much at the moment and you could tell it was bothering him to be stuck in bed. Unable to be able to put as much dramatic emphasis behind his usual statements Thorin had to settle for extending the length of the lecture instead. Kili had been standing here for so long his feet were starting to ache. 

He’d especially hadn’t wanted to hear this one as he knew Thorin was really not going to be happy with the decisions Kili had made in his absence. Kili still believed he’d done the right thing but Thorin was bound to be disagree, especially concerning the Elves, and Kili really hated making his Uncle disappointed in him.

Fortunately, it sounded like Thorin might be winding himself up for the conclusion of The Almighty Sermon. 

‘...So Proud, Thank you’

Eh?

That was not how it was supposed to finish.

Seeing his shock, Thorin’s mouth twitched into something approximating a smile. 

‘You weren’t listening to me, were you, my lad?’

Kili flushed and dropped his eyes back down to the bed sheets.

‘Kili, Look at me and let me make one thing clear. I may not like your decisions, I especially don’t like that you disobeyed me in breaking out of the room, but your reasons for doing so were right. You did the best you could in the circumstances and saved my life and that of your brother. You’ve done well, my nephew, and made me very proud’

That said, Thorin lay back against his pillows, eye drooping to half mast.

‘Now Kili, go fetch Balin. We’ve got to figure out how to get rid of Dain without setting of civil war and if you see Bilbo, tell him I want to see him’

Thus dismissed, Kili turned towards the exit of the healing tent. Struck by a last minute impulse he rushed over to his Uncle and gave him a hug as gently as he could manage. 

‘I love you, Uncle’ he blurted out, before fleeing like a pack of wargs were after him.

Typical Kili, just when you thought he was all grown up that irrepressible childish charm would suddenly re-emerge. Thorin chuckled to himself and he allowed his eyes to slip closed. He would allow his eyes a little more rest. Just for a moment of course.

He was fast asleep in seconds.


	4. Chapter Four

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Within which Kili remembers and Balin gets the Headache of a Lifetime.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow, really long chapter this time. I'm getting better at this.

Kili leant against the wall, resting his head against the cool stone, his breathing felt as if it was finally returning to normal. The elation of having succeeded in convincing his Uncle to negotiate receding as the familiar feeling of panic crawled back into his stomach. 

Bard, now the Lord of the Dale had just left. Thorin had received him sitting on the throne once occupied by his Grandfather. Stiffly he had greeted the man who had helped them reclaim Erebor and thanked him with as much grace as he could muster under the circumstances. There was no mention of the lack of apology for the previous words exchanged between them. Bard was a wise man, you see, and knew when to pick his battles. 

The negotiations were long and fraught. Balin, as the most rational of all the dwarves, did most of the talking. Though often he felt like a weary mother trying to convince her over-tired children to go to bed, such was the level of childishness to which the debate occasionally descended. Thorin scowled and grumped while Bard struggled to contain his smugness at having the King Under the Mountain beholden to him. Dain had certainly not helped, only chipping in to make things more difficult for the beleaguered King in an attempt to undermine his authority. Balin was actually surprised when all the parties managed to refrain throwing their food at each other when lunch was served. 

Thank Mahal Kili had dealt with Thranduil before his Uncle had woken up. His Uncle was a mighty leader but too often allowed his grudges to get in the way of making the right decision. His entrenched hatred of elves admittedly had good cause. Thorin would never forgive them for not helping them at the Sacking of Erebor. This, combined with the recent uncomfortable stay in Thranduil’s dungeons, would have made it next to impossible for him even to allow them to enter his halls let alone be civil.

During the discussions, Kili had stayed within view to prevent any return of Thorin’s sickness in the face of the loss of a considerable amount of his treasure. Sitting still for that long was a strain for the lively young lad, something most wouldn’t have believed possible for him, but Kili was as stubborn as Dwarves come and wasn’t going to let victory slip through his fingers when it was within his grasp. 

In the end, they managed to reach agreement. It was a typical compromise, that is, an agreement neither party was entirely happy with but also not entirely displeased with either. The Men got a reasonable proportion of the treasure (and far more then was given to the elves) in compensation for the wealth they had lost to the Dragon and for the Dwarves to help rebuild the city of Dale in the next spring in recognition of the killing of Smaug. In return, the Men of the Dale accepted a trading contract for the provision of food and other supplies. 

After he had left Balin, in an act he was lauded for by all of those present, managed to persuade Thorin to go and rest (or rather go and sulk in private) before taking to his own bed so his head could recover from being bashed against so many brick walls.

Kili took the opportunity to slip away. Seeking quiet after a such a stressful day he wandered down the old hallways until he was far enough away from the others for comfort. He was exhausted. 

And terrified.

He was going to be a mother. Though barely out of childhood himself, soon he would be responsible for the life of another, and frankly it scared him. At least he had secured a home and a food supply. Step one and two in responsible parenting complete.

In the old days he wouldn’t have had this problem. Young male dwarves were forbidden from lying with others until they were married to either another male or, more unusually, a women. This meant that any new mother would automatically have the support of a partner to raise the child and already have an established position and home. However, the scarcity of Bearers over the last millennia had gradually eroded the perceived need for such stringent societal rules and it had become common for young males to take pleasure as they wished and for warriors to take comfort with each other when away from home. 

This was something that the Dwarves of the Quest for Erebor had made considerable use of during the journey. Whenever they were reasonably safe, the camp had been a hive of carefully muffled activity at night. Only those with no inclination for such acts, such as Balin and Oin, and those who were already married like Bombur and Gloin did not take part. It was not as though they disapproved, they usually volunteered to take watch on such nights so the others could have their pleasures. In return, they would get massages to free up sore muscles or be excused from more onerous duties such as washing up. It was a good system, until something like this happened. 

It made Kili smile to think of the fun he’d had on the journey here, despite the unfortunate consequences. He’d been in high demand as a partner. His looks, though unusual for a dwarf, were considered beautiful in an odd, exotic kind of way. 

Bofur had been the first to pluck up the courage to approach. At Bilbo’s strange little house he’d been pulled into a little nook at the back. Surrounded by coats, cloaks and umbrellas he’d been abruptly sucked off before being hoiked up and fucked against the wall, his legs around Bofur’s hips as he scrabbled against the odd curved walls. Much hilarity ensued when Bofur got a little carried away and slipped on a rogue foot scrubber and they’d both gone tumbling down, bringing the coat rail and all its coats down too. Since the damage had already been done, they’d simply carried on. It must have been one hell of a sight. 

They’d had few chances to be together again during the quest but each time was entertaining and made him giggle even now to think of. It didn’t hurt that he was remarkably handsome with his hair down.

Bifur had been a surprise. He hadn’t expected the poor dwarf to be cognizant enough to want to partner anyone but nevertheless when Bifur had tugged him into a private room at Rivendell he went willingly. He had loved the beautiful toys Bifur made for him as a child and was very fond of the older man. It had saddened him to see the shell left behind by that terrible wound. Kili had expected a rough tumble but instead got a soft and gentle love making session, with Bifur breathing in his scent and touching him like he was something incredibly precious. His eyes had not been entirely there though, but Kili hoped that it made Bifur happy to be with whomever he was really seeing as he touched Kili. 

Dori had been a bit staid really, but a good enough lay. He’d only do it in the missionary position and was in and out before Kili had really got going. It was all a bit clinical but Kili was never one to turn down a good dwarf, especially one as strong as Dori. Those muscles had been impressive he had to admit. 

Nori was not a good dwarf, but he knew more mischief even then Kili. A dwarf like that, he thought, would definitely have a few good tricks up his sleeves. He was right. He’d learned a lot that night about stealing pleasure from another and a good time was had by all. 

Ori, on the other hand... well, poor Ori. Someone had to teach him, he supposed. He just wished it hadn’t had to be him. He got better towards the end but memories of the awkward, slobbery encounters had him wincing. Kili had always tried to be kind but he usually attempted to find another partner as quickly as possible when he saw Ori looking around for him. 

Dwalin had been a revelation. Kili had never expected his old weapons master to approach him for comfort. Admittedly, he hadn’t been around much when Kili was young. Always having to go off to seek work in the towns of Men to sustain himself and the royal family but he’d helped Thorin train the two brothers when he’d been around. By his fiftieth birthday Kili was nursing one hell of a crush on the older dwarf. It was mostly hero worship, brought about by seeing him be the perfect example of what Kili thought a dwarf should be. He was thicket and strong, a ferocious fighter and dedicated provider but superbly patient with small children. Loyal to a fault, he’d been a stalwart friend of his uncle. 

That was why Kili hadn’t thought he had a chance with Dwalin. It was known that he was the only one with whom Thorin would take comfort. He had also helped raise Fili and Kili, teaching them their weapons, pulling them out of trouble and administering discipline when Thorin wasn’t around to do it. Kili thought he was doomed to always being the pesky little dwarflet in Dwalin’s eyes, clinging onto his boot straps and pestering him for stories of war.

So he’d almost fallen over in shock when Dwalin had propositioned him one night just outside the shire, acceptance tumbling out of his mouth before he could turn his brain on. It had been an overwhelming but amazing experience, even hurried and hushed as it was just outside the circle of the campfire. Kili had been expecting something rough and workmanlike but instead had been on the receiving end of a surprising amount of passion. Tough and gentle in turns he’d manhandled Kili into being where he wanted him and had brought them to their mutual pleasure. Dwalin had definitely been the master that night, and every other time they’d been together. It pleased him when Kili was obedient and submitted to having the pleasure wrung out of him by Dwalin’s strong and sure hands. 

The next day he’d checked that his Uncle was alright with Kili accepting Dwalin’s advances. It had been possibly the most awkward conversation Kili had ever had but worth it when he found out that, far from minding about losing his bed partner, he seemed rather pleased at the news. Kili was not sure why it would please him but thought it must be because Thorin had his mind on both much bigger and smaller things. Bigger of course being the Quest and smaller, well it was a rather cute, slightly roundish curly haired smaller thing that had caught his attention. Kili had despaired at his Uncle’s rudeness to the Hobbit during the quest, knowing it was born from frustrated lusts rather than genuine animosity. 

Thinking about it made him sound like a bit of a slut really, but it was all harmless. He definitely knew who the father of his child was though. He’d felt the spark of life begin within him the very next morning and there had been only one the night before. 

What he wasn’t so sure of was whether to reveal this knowledge to the dwarf in question, or even to his brother and Uncle. He’d already seen how protective they could get and was not sure he wanted another smothering influence in his life. Kili would have to marry him to legitimise the child and in Dwarven society that meant he would be owned, body and soul, by his new husband. 

It wasn’t really the marriage that was the problem. Kili had grown up expecting to have a political match arranged by his Uncle. It wasn’t exactly something he had been looking forward to but he resigned himself to it long ago. It was his duty as an heir of Durin to help bring stability to their kingdom.

If he was honest, the main concern was whether the other dwarf wanted a child with Kili. There was the dreadful possibility that they’d never wanted children, or even if they did, never want Kili to be the one to bear them. They may resent being tied to a youngster barely out of the schoolroom and a squalling brat bringing an end to their independence. Kili could bear a loveless marriage but not being an unwanted burden upon one whom he respected. 

With these heavy thoughts in mind, Kili came back to the present and finally looked around at the room within which he had taken refuge. He began to laugh almost hysterically. It was the famous Chapel of Mahal, Erebor’s main place of worship for their beloved maker. It was ironic, he thought, that the one place he goes to escape from his situation is the hall dedicated to the one who made it possible.


	5. Chapter Five

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Something's brewing in the Mountain...

Nori stood in front of Thorin a worried look replacing his normal sly expression. 

‘Are you sure Nori?’

‘Yes Your Majesty, I saw Dain’s men sneaking away from the Treasury last night. It doesn’t look like anything was taken but they’ve definitely had a rout around.’

‘They must be looking for something specific’ Ori said, stating the obvious in case the others had missed it, gaining a quirked eyebrow from the King.

The company gathered in a small room just off the throne room where Nori had called a meeting to give his troubling news.

‘It’s the Arkenstone, it must be, the question really is, why do they want it?’ Balin answered with a rather more sensible offering to the discussion.

‘He could be hoping to force Thorin to negotiate away something important to get it back, a large part of the treasure maybe?’ was Gloin’s thoughts on the matter.

‘Possibly, but Dain was never one to covet gold for anything but the power it gave him, I do not think he would jeopardise relations with Erebor for a little more, but you might be onto something, perhaps there is something that would give him power that he is hoping to extract....marriage into the royal line is a possibility, either his daughter with Fili or himself with Kili’ Balin said, building on Gloin’s suggestion.

Kili’s head came up at this suggestion...’how could he marry me, he has already been married once!’

‘Aye lad, what could give him more power than having a Durin of the Royal line as Second Wife? He would be third in line and humiliate Thorin and yourself in the bargain. Otherwise he could secure his influence through being the Uncle of a future heir if the daughter marries Fili, but that would take a lot longer to come to fruition’

Kili felt sick at Balin’s reasoning, being someone’s Second Wife was a humiliation itself, considered a lesser being than a First Wife, they were really nothing more than an official courtesan, used for sex and very little else. Very few saw the light of day beyond their husband’s bedroom and they had no rights, even to any children they bore. A horrible fate for a dwarf and one that few entered of their own free will.

It didn’t help that Dain was a Dwarf known for his unusual and often violent sexual tastes. A mighty fighter and respected for his leadership ability, rumour still abounded of the suffering his first wife had been through, of all the disturbingly young dwarves that had been seen leaving his chambers covered in bruises and bites and, in even quieter voices, that maybe his wife hadn’t died in childbirth at all...  
‘I would never allow that to happen, Dain would know this’ Thorin interrupted Kili’s rambling thoughts, resting a hand gently on his nephews hair.

‘You may not have much choice in the matter; we do not know what leverage Dain thinks he has’ Balin counter argued. 

‘Maybe we can get a bit ahead of him by offering to have me marry his daughter. After all, we cannot send him off with nothing after he came to our aid so readily. It would look like a generous gesture on our part and make any later objection of his seem unreasonable’

‘You would not object to this, nephew? You do not have to, we can find another way’

‘I am willing Uncle, Drifa is not her father, and it would help tie all the Longbeards together’

Serious blue eyes met identical serious blue eyes. Alike and yet not, Thorin had always been proud of Fili. Though his more pragmatic approach to life was all his father, his dedication to his people came directly from the Royal Line. Looking into his nephews eyes that day he acknowledged the adulthood of the dwarf in front of him and his right to be heir to the throne.

Fili was going to make a great King when his time came, probably even better then Thorin if he was being honest with himself. Clever and level-headed he was willing to do anything for the security of his people. They were traits that made older dwarves respect his opinion despite his young age.

‘I will keep it in mind but it will still be a last resort. I would give you more time to find your one before we must consider a political match’

‘I’ve never been so glad i’m not a noble’ Bofur interjected, ‘but what if it’s not that, The Arkenstone is a symbol of Kingship in you Longbeards isn’t it? Well, Dain has the most people here, if he can get his hands on it, maybe he’ll try to claim the kingship outright by the force of his supporters. That would give him all the power he could want’

‘Possible’ muttered Thorin, ‘very possible’ 

‘Or perhaps he is trying to re-ignite the gold lust in Thorin by presenting him with the stone, then he could claim the Royal Line was mentally unstable and not fit to rule and take over’

Out of all of them only Oin had the courage to say out loud something Thorin could have taken as a direct insult, questioning the stability of his sanity in such a way, but Oin didn’t even flinch. Mostly because he was old enough not to give fig about what others thought of his opinions, no matter how high born they were. The others couldn’t deny that he may be speaking the truth. The deaf old dwarf had struck upon the heart of their worries for Thorin, they’d all rejoiced at his recovery but there was still that lingering unease that he may regress if confronted with the greatest Treasure in Erebor. They’d all been putting very little effort into finding the thing themselves for the same reason, hoping that somehow it would never appear and they could be assured of Thorin’s healing. 

Thorin let out a weary sigh, ‘To my shame, that is also a possibility’

Fili huffed an uncharacteristically impatient sigh.

‘All this supposition is futile, unless we can find out what Dain’s plan really is there isn’t much point theorising any further. All this talk is getting us no-where. I suggest we increase our efforts to find the Arkenstone, in case that is his objective, and see if we can’t get more information out of Dain’s men’

‘Um, excuse me’ a small voice attempted to break into the conversation and was completely ignored.

‘Yes, that is good Fili,’ With a wry smile he turned back to Nori, ‘Nori, brother of Dori, I appoint you Spymaster General of Erebor, if you are willing to accept see what you can ferret out from Dain and his men about their plans, 

The newly respectable thief bowed low, ‘I would be honoured’

Clapping him on the shoulder, he turned to the rest of the company.

‘Bofur, Bifur, Gloin and Dwalin back to finding that stone, Oin, I believe you wanted to see Kili. Balin you’re with me’

‘Um, please, I really think you should listen to me, I’ve got something to say that’s really quite important’ Bilbo tried and failed again to catch their attention.

Pulling Balin aside as the others stood to begin the search, Thorin urgently muttered ‘Balin, find out how long it would take for the Dwarves of Erebor to return from the Blue Mountains, we may need re-enforcements’

‘EXCUSE ME!’

A brief pause.

‘You’re excused, laddie’

The bustle of preparation began again.

‘Oh hang and blast these wretched dwarves! Wait! WAIT! ...You won’t find it’

‘Won’t find what Mr Baggins?’ Thorin huffed impatiently.

‘The Arkenstone you stu...urhumphf, erm stupendous dwarf’ 

It was a poor save but the best he could do in the circumstances. His poor mother would be turning in her grave if she knew how close he was to be so intolerably rude. She may have been a wild Took, but even the Took’s had manners and insulting your host is one of the most highly offensive things a respectable hobbit could do. In the Shire, it would be almost enough to cause a hobbit to be ostracised (the worst punishment of all for such sociable creatures). It was also why Bilbo had been so agitated at the Great Dwarven Siege of Bag End. Taking your hosts food, with or without their permission, was a normal part of a hobbit party as was allowing free access to your house, but the lack of common courtesy in the proceedings had cut his Baggins side to the bone. Not one please or thank you had been heard all evening despite the ransacking of his pantry!

‘What makes you so sure Mr Baggins?’ Dwalin said

Bilbo hesitated for just a moment, not taking this decision lightly. 

‘because...because I already have’

Finally, he had gained their attention. 

Before he could act, Bilbo stood and moved forward, rummaging in his pocket he knelt before Thorin and presented him with a brilliant shining gem.

No, no not good! Kili was horrified at this development, after all his effort, this would almost certainly push Thorin back into the grip of the Gold Lust. That stupid fat hobbit, Kili took back all thoughts of trying to match make between Bilbo and his Uncle in favour of strangling the brainless little fool. 

For a brief moment, Thorin’s eye lit with an unholy glee as he gazed upon the most stunning gemstone in middle-earth. It was gloriously beautiful, large and cut perfectly, lit from within by a brilliant blue flame. It sat in the hobbit’s small hands like the prize he had longed for so long. The greatest heirloom of his house finally restored. It was finally his! this magnificent jewel, the Heart of the Mountain. The one thing that his Grandfather prized so much ...

 

....it had driven him mad.

This horrid thought snapped him back to reality. Taking a deep breath like a swimmer gasping for air, he met the frightened blue eyes of the hobbit before him. Those eyes, which had cut into his soul from the moment he had entered his odd little house, stared back at him, willing him to show his true strength.

Unsteadily, but with finality he closed Bilbo’s hands over the gem.

‘Keep it’ he said, ‘keep it safe for me. I can think of no better guardian then you’

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you all enjoyed the chapter! Sorry about the delay. Reall life is a bummer...


	6. Chapter Six

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nori does what Nori does best...

Dain was definitely about to move, Nori thought, walking away from the room he’d just deposited one rather soused Ironfoot Guard. At least now he had a better idea what they were planning. 

The daft old guard had let slip information about his master’s plans easily enough when he’d been persuaded to have a few too many. It had helped that his ale had a little something stronger in it that may or may not have been liberated from Elrond’s stores in Rivendell. It had been almost laughably simple but then most dwarves were not naturals at deception, not like Nori was.

Born on the wrong side of the sheets he’d had a rather bad start in life. His mother had once been an Erebor noble and married to a fine, upstanding jeweller. However unable to cope with the loss of her husband, her home and the later deprivations she had turned to drink to numb the pain. It hadn’t taken long for her to resort to prostitution to support her habit. Supplies of food and drink of all kind had been short in those lean years, anything stronger then ale had been expensive and if opening your legs got her what she needed then that is what she would do. She fell so low at one point that it was rumoured she’d even kiss her customers for money. The drink had eventually taken her from them, but if he was painfully honest, it was more a relief then a loss in the end. 

Nori was her second son, but the first born to one of her ‘customers’. Nori never really knew his father, though he had his suspicions as to who it may be. After all the face of his shape was rather distinctive and was nothing like his mothers. Anyway, his mother was not exactly a good example of appropriate dwarf behaviour and had never really tried to raise her children properly. On the occasions when she remembered they existed, their only interactions were something along the lines of:

‘BRAT! What the hell are you doing here? Get out of my way I have a gentledwarf coming soon and he won’t want to see horrid little rats like you around. Go and get me some more Ale!...’

So Nori had taken to providing for himself. Poor old Dori had tried his best but always struggled to look after himself, Nori and later Ori, all at once. Nori had made life particularly difficult and eventually Dori had completely lost control of his brother.

Dori was the only one born of her that had been sired by her husband. Born shortly before the fall his bright future had been lost in an instant. The possibility of what his life could have been still burned in Dori and he spent most of his life trying to recapture the respectability his line had lost. The shame brought upon them by their mother had grated more harshly on him then on his brothers and in response he became almost obsessive about manners and propriety. His perfectly arranged, elaborate braids were case in point. He’d tried to enforce his rigid beliefs on his brothers and bring their behaviour into line and had succeeded, almost excessively so, with Ori but Nori had been a lost cause. 

His brother’s strictures were so restrictive that Nori, in the way of all recalcitrant youngsters, had rebelled against them. Tired of waiting around, starving in a little shack on the edge of town, and fed up of constantly being so confined, he’d ventured out and fallen in with a ‘bad’ crowd. They had taken him under their wing and taught him everything they knew about making a living through more ‘entrepreneurial’ methods, shall we say. Small and fast fingered he’d become their finest pick-pocket before graduating up to more serious crimes as he grew older. Felons the lot of them, but they’d looked after him as best they could and, in his opinion, were among the finest friends a dwarf could ask for. 

One of the most useful skills they had taught him was extracting information from a Dwarf and yet leaving them none the wiser to what they divulged when they woke up the next morning. It was something he had put to good use during the first of his officially sanctioned interrogations. Not that the dwarf had seen it as anything more than a friendly, drunken chat but either way he’d got the information he’d needed and the guard wouldn’t remember a thing in the morning.

Funnily enough, it was Bofur, the least noble or politically aware dwarf, that came closest to guessing what Dain was up to, though it was more serious then even he had guessed. Dain was planning on usurping Thorin, but not by as subtle a means as persuading others through the influence of the Arkenstone, or even using it to send Thorin mad. If Nori’s slightly less than willing source was to be believed, he was planning what amounted to nothing less than a full scale invasion. The Arkenstone was only to cement the belief in his right to kingship in the Iron Mountain dwarves so none objected to what was essentially a coup, something that drew against the foundations that dwarven society was built on and something that Nori, even at his lowest, would have struggled to countenance. Dain had been planting the seeds of this belief among his followers for decades but his ownership of the Heart of the Mountain, the mighty symbol of the Durin line of kings, would be the keystone locking the belief in place. 

Once this happened it wouldn’t be difficult to take over completely. The Iron Hill dwarves vastly outnumbered the company, though none except Dain were as fine warriors, and hundreds more were supposed to be on their way. Once Dain had proclaimed himself King, it would be a short matter of ‘disposing’ of the real heirs. They expected Thorin to fight back and hoped to kill at least him and Dwalin by suppressing the ‘rebellion’ against the new ruler. Balin and Oin were considered too old, and Kili and Fili too young, to put up a proper fight and they expected the rest could be bought off with gold and threats of violence to keep them quiet. The older dwarves would then unfortunately find themselves dying of old age rather sooner than they would expect and the young lads were to be put to ‘good use’.

Nori wasn’t exactly sure what this would entail but the guards glee at the thought and the drunken slurring of ‘It’s gonna’ be soooo good, the younger one is sooo pretty’ didn’t bode well.

Turning a corner Nori sped swiftly and silently towards where Thorin was currently residing. In an odd way he was looking forward to being able to reveal this new knowledge to the king. There was almost a child-like happiness at the thought of doing something right and impressing someone important that Nori was desperately trying to deny he was feeling. Obviously it was pleasure at his old skills still being sharp despite their recent hibernation that was making him like this. Nothing to do with selling out and becoming a law-abiding citizen, Mahal forbid.

His old comrades would laugh to see him now. Spying on other dwarves for no payment other than the respect of a King and hurrying back to his liege to snitch on the plans of others, but Nori saw it more as protecting his investment then selling out. After all, his efforts on the quest would be in vain if Dain were to get his hands on the Throne. His contract for the share of the spoils was with Thorin, so once there was no Thorin there was no contract. There was no doubt that Dain would swiftly redistribute the treasure to his own followers and the dwarves of the company probably wouldn’t get a single piece of silver for their troubles.

Besides, there was also another matter of ownership. The royal family belonged to him, you see. In a way they were precious treasure and he’d found them first and appreciated them before all others. He’d followed them to the ends of the earth and fought against all manner of foul beasts to protect them. There was even a possibility he could become family if the Kili's babe turned out to be his, mahal help the little thing if he was, Nori hadn't a clue what to do with babies.

Still, all this made them his and never let it be said that Nori, brother of Dori, does not protect that which is his.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Is it just me or is everyone else loving Nori at the moment? 
> 
> What's Thorin going to do? When will Kili reveal the father? Why is Bifur licking the walls? 
> 
> All this to come!
> 
> Sorry about the delay on this chapter. On the plus side i've got at least another 6000 or so words written, mostly in dribs and drabs of other chapters but the epilogue is complete!


	7. Chapter Seven

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Plans begin to come together and Kili is having a bad day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Does anyone know how to stop AO3 getting rid of italics when I upload a chapter? They keep disappearing on me and i've no idea how to get them back.

Thorin took the news stoically, his frown deepening on his face. Rubbing a hand over his beard, he contemplated what he could do to prevent losing the home he had fought so hard to regain. 

‘We must act first, it will prevent him from gaining the upper hand, Balin, did you manage to send a message to the Blue Mountains?’

‘Yes my Lord, the Ravens have returned and I have sent a message, but they will take months to arrive and they will still have to cross the Misty Mountains. 

As Thorin paced back and forth thinking of what to do next, Kili sat against the side wall sulking. He’d just spent the morning being poked and prodded by Oin, who’d at one point had his cold hands somewhere very uncomfortable that even now made Kili squirm. He was also starting to feel a bit queasy. It must have been all that completely unnecessary pushing against his stomach that had upset it, Kili had no idea of what he was hoping to gain from doing that but whatever it was it had made the older dwarf tut and sigh. 

It hadn’t helped that Oin had gone straight to his Uncle to report his concerns. Oin had muttered whatever they were into Thorin’s ear to low for Kili to hear, which had annoyed him no end, as he had a right to know whatever it was. To top it all off they had apparently decided between them that Kili was not allowed to do anything strenuous or stressful. Normally Kili would have leapt at any excuse to avoid chores but his joy was swiftly snuffed out as he realised that anything even vaguely fun, like going hunting or even riding out on a pony was also banned. No matter how much he had argued, wheedled and in the end even implored, he could not get them to budge. They had even convinced Fili that it was necessary to monitor him like he was a badly behaved child and asked him to ‘keep a constant eye on’ Kili. 

Fili had agreed, the bloody turncoat. Kili was still stinging from his brother deserting him in his hour of need.

He had been hoping to skip this meeting altogether and go back to bed for a bit to figure out how to get around these new restrictions but apparently his presence was required, though he wasn’t exactly clear on what he could possibly contribute. 

‘His whole plan hinges on getting the Arkenstone, if we prove that we already have it then his main support will collapse. Bilbo, are you willing to publically claim the stone?’

Put on the spot Bilbo was flustered.

‘I... erm.. it’s not mine, I thought I was only looking after it, right Thorin?’

‘It is yours, Hobbit, it was a gift and I will not take it back’ 

‘Well, it’s a bit of an expensive gift really. I can’t possibly accept it! It’s not appropriate since i’m not.. well.. family or anything’

Thorin stilled in his pacing and an odd blush spread across his cheeks. Several members of their company discreetly covered their chortles with coughs and smiles with their drinks. 

Funny, thought Kili sourly, they’re not the ones that have to put up with Thorin rechanneling his frustrated urge to possess the hobbit into stifling his nephew instead.

‘You are a member of my company, therefore you are a valuable part of my family’

‘oh.. well... that’s lovely, really but I think this stone had better belong to a dwarf really’

‘He may have a point Thorin, if they know the stone is found and yet you have not claimed it, it may lead to them still questioning your right to the Throne.’ Was Balin’s wise interruption into the awkward conversation.

‘They will not question it if I grant it to Bilbo in gratitude for his services in the quest. For saving my life upon the Carrock and for being the first to enter the Dragon’s lair’

‘Not sure that’s how they’ll see it. It’ll make them question why the stone was not given to Dain for bringing a whole army to help you’ Gloin punctured that idea neatly. ‘but if we show it has been found and leave it a bit vague as to who claims it that may work. After all the throne is ruined so there is nowhere to display it for the moment’

‘It may help if we use Kili’s pregnancy, if we announce it at the same time as you claim the throne stone, it could prevent any sort of uprising. No dwarf would act against the family of a pregnant bearer lest he miscarry’

‘You will not!’ 

Fili’s suggestion made Kili start to pay more attention. In his rather petulant mood he was not exactly happy about being used in such a way. What was it with his relatives and constantly exploiting him to avoid political problems? His own brother was becoming almost as bad as the rest of them. 

Traitor.

‘Kili’ growled Thorin reprovingly. 

‘It could be a way of solving this all with no blood-shed, laddie, and they will all find out eventually anyway so might as well use it to our advantage’ Balin added evenly.

Feeling ashamed of his ill-tempered outburst Kili cast his eyes back down to his knees, mumbling half-hearted apologies. He hated to admit it but Balin may have a point, though he refused to acknowledge that his brother may have had a good idea, but still it rankled to be used that way. 

‘We could claim it as a sign from Mahal, according to the legends it is a sign of high favour from the gods’ 

Favour?, curse more like, to a dwarf like Kili, who valued his few freedoms so much to be even more restricted, this pregnancy was looking more and more like a cage.

‘Good Ori, Kings are expected to have the favour of Mahal and if we can prove this through revealing Kili’s blessing whilst showing we have the King’s stone it could cement our position’

Ori puffed up at the praise from the King, feeling proud of himself for plucking up the courage to speak as much as thinking up something sensible.

‘May I just suggest that we may want to spread a little ground work before the announcement? If we get a rumour going that a sign from Mahal will show the true King it could make the Iron Hill dwarves’ minds more receptive to being convinced by the announcement, Bofur and I can do this with ease’

‘We can?’ questioned the startled Toymaker, turning to look at Nori.

I distinct snort came from the usually taciturn Bifur. ‘Worse than an old women with your gossiping’ he signed in iglishmek, drawing laughter from the assembled company as Bofur protested his innocence.

‘Yes. Bofur, Nori, Bombur you start spreading the rumour. Gloin, inform Dain we will be having the coronation in a week. Balin, send word to the Blue Mountain’s to see if they can’t send an advance party and to invite any Broadbeams or Firebeards who wish to settle in Erebor to come too, it could swell our ranks, Dori, take Ori and go down to the old store rooms and see if you can’t find us some more suitable attire. Oin, you’re on food supplies and Fili, take stock of what weaponry we have. Bifur you are guarding the hoard’

‘What about me?’ protested Kili, annoyed at being left out.

Orders given, the company departed to their newly assigned tasks hoping to avoid the upcoming confrontation between Uncle and nephew.

‘You must rest, this stress is not good for you’

‘I can still help! I’m pregnant not useless’ 

On reflection, it might not have been a good idea to mention his condition as Thorin loomed over him and said, in the dangerous sort of voice you did not question:  
‘Do not fight me on this one Kili’

Or you may end up locked up again was the unspoken threat on the end of that sentence. Knowing that for the moment this was a losing battle, Kili reluctantly backed down. He would regroup and try again another time.

Irritably smacking his brothers offered hand away as he rose, Kili decided to go and do some target practice before he ended up biting someone’s head off for looking at him the wrong way. Surely, even though he was now apparently a weak, delicate little thing, he could still practice with his bow. 

Thorin watched as Kili stomped off in a huff, knowing that this apparent surrender was not the end of this battle with his nephew. He knew that Kili thought he was being overprotective but he couldn’t help but worry over him, especially after Oin had spoken to him. 

The risks this apparent blessing brought had occurred to him before but as a distant possibility, swiftly forgotten in the joy at the child’s conception. However, Oin had made sure they were now in the forefront of his mind. 

He’s young, Oin had said, too young. He’s not fully developed yet so bearing a child is going to be hard a best but it could be fatal if something goes wrong. He must take every precaution to maintain his health and he must not be allowed to become unduly stressed.

Thorin could not face the thought of losing another family member, so he was absolutely determined to make sure Kili did everything he could to maximise his chance of getting through this safely, even if he protested.

Experience of Kili’s temper and inclination for rebellion when he was aggrieved told him that this was not going to be easy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone still reading! Just to say i'd really value your input/opinion on the pacing of this story. Am I going to fast/too low/just right? 
> 
> I know it annoys me when authors skip through things too quickly (wow that was rushed) and when they drag things out too long (get on with it already!) but it's really hard to judge with your own work, so i'm hoping you'll be my Goldilocks and let me know.


	8. Thilbo Interlude

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Thorin & Bilbo demanded a bit of time. So I had to oblige!

Bilbo was looking for Thorin. It was time they had A Word.

They simply could not keep on pretending that it was alright for him to carry around this great, shiny lump of rock anymore. It was not right and the situation needed to be dealt with before Bilbo finally outstayed his welcome and had to return home, a thought that did not bring him as much joy as it used to. They’d been getting on so well since the Carrock and the spiders, even to the point where Bilbo felt that Thorin might almost like him. It was a slim hope and he knew there was absolutely no chance of the great dwarf returning the love that Bilbo felt for him. So best that he get this all sorted and get on his way, before he did something stupid like kiss the king and get himself banished.

He had meant to raise it after the last meeting but the king had disappeared off somewhere with Balin, leaving Bilbo to pick which activity he wanted to join in. At first he’d spent a fun few hours with Dori & Ori digging through dusty chests looking for clothes for them all. They’d found a large store room on the second level that looked like it was once a haberdashery. A part from some chests that were damaged by mildew or damp, the rest were reasonably intact. There was no moth damage, probably because even the little pests were scared of the dragon but the colours were a bit faded. There was a large trove of fine fabrics and some fully or partially made garments that Ori thought he could alter for use. After a rather prolonged debate about fashions, colours, accessories and what would suit whom, they’d finally decided one good outfit per dwarf and some spares for changes. 

Ori gathered them all up and, with Dori acting as pack mule, set off in search of the other dwarves, sewing kit in hand. He’d left them with Nori and Bofur, who had been discussing how to recognise the point when a dwarf was not too drunk to forget what you told them, but drunk enough to forget who told it. Bilbo wondered about Nori sometimes, he had a lot of very odd knowledge that he couldn’t see any legitimate use for.

He finally found Thorin and Balin surveying the damage to the front gates, entrance hall and main stairs with Dain. Seeing an opportunity to give Thorin a break from the irritating Lord of the Iron Hills he butted in.

‘Excuse me, Thorin, my I have a word?’

Seeing freedom offered, Thorin leapt at the opportunity.

‘Of course, Balin you can continue things with Dain here can’t you? Good’

Walking away before waiting for Balin or Dain’s response, he swept the Hobbit into a small private antechamber just off the entrance hall.

‘What is it Bilbo?’

‘It’s about the stone. I know you said earlier that it was a gift but I can’t accept it, Thorin, I simply can’t. It’s just not proper. Gifts are suppose to be small and given away only at birthdays. Large gifts are an obligation on one party to reciprocate in kind and i’m sorry but I just don’t have that sort of wealth to exchange. This stone is an important part of your culture and it needs to stay here, in Erebor, with you, and that is my final decision on the matter. ’

He paced back and forth in front of the King, even wagging his finger at him towards the end of his little speech.

‘You most certainly can accept it, little Hobbit, it is a grave insult to refuse the gift of a Dwarf, besides it will be staying here in Erebor, with you’

‘But i’m not staying in Erebor. I mean, I must go home eventually.’

‘Must you? Why?’

Well I erm... because ... because it’s my home and that’s where I’m expected to be’

It wasn’t the greatest reason really, and you could see the dawning sadness on Bilbo’s face when he realised he didn’t have all that much to go back too, beyond material things.

Seeing his chance Thorin moved forward and cradled the small beardless face in his hands.

‘I would have you stay, little hobbit, stay with me’

Bilbo gobbled a bit in disbelief, staring up in shock at the king.

‘Why?’ Seeing the darkening of the face in front of his hurriedly clarified ‘Erm I mean, why do you want me to stay?’

Feeling reckless, Thorin closed the gap between them and kissed him. 

‘That’s why’ he said pulling back, ‘I would court you, are you amenable?’

‘But i’m a Hobbit!’

Thorin rested his forehead against Bilbo’s.

‘Irrelevant’

‘Hobbit’s aren’t made for living underground’

Thorin smiled at the latest protest.

‘I can build you a hobbit hole outside if you wish’

A kiss on the right cheek.

‘You’re a King!’

‘Also irrelevant’

A kiss on the left cheek.

‘Don’t you have to have heirs?’

‘That’s what Fili & Kili are for’

A peck on the end of his nose.

‘What about my family?’ 

Eventually there would be a difficult question.

‘We can visit, not often, but occasionally. Fili is old enough to take the reins when all has been settled’

A soft kiss to his forehead.

‘So you will stay?, the only reason you should not is if you cannot imagine returning my love’

Bilbo was torn, the Baggins in him was declaring this a more ridiculous idea then running out of his front door after a pack of dwarves in the first place and that his place was as the Baggins of Bag End. Whereas the Took in him was pressing him to accept the dwarf who held his heart, celebrating at the new adventure, he felt the two parts of his family pulling in opposite directions. In the end what swayed him was the memory of the horrible feeling he’d had in Bag End after they left without him. The emptiness, boredom and feeling like he’d thrown away the best opportunity in his life. He didn’t want to feel that way again.

‘Yes, i’ll stay’

A genuine grin lit up Thorin’s face as Bilbo found himself swung up into strong arms and crushed against Thorin’s chest (and a rather fine chest it was too). Into the soft fabric he muttered,

‘We have to go back and get my belongings though, I don’t want the Sackville-Baggins’ to get their dirty paws on it’

Laughing Thorin agreed.

‘Whatever you want, my love, we can send a Raven with Balin to the dwarves coming home. They can pick it up on the way’


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cometh the day and cometh the hour...

Kili hung over the side of bed vomiting into the bed pan. Feeling utterly wretched, he watched as Fili took it to be emptied for the umpteenth time that day. 

Morning sickness my arse, he thought, all sodding day sickness more like. Feeling Fili return and stretch out behind him on the bed he curled into his brother’s comforting embrace with a moan and with the rather ridiculous hope that his older sibling could make it all just go away, as he had done when they were younger. He would forgive Fili’s treachery completely as long as he stayed nice and still and warm and kept emptying the bed pans.

It had been a whole week of throwing up like this and he had never felt so awful in his life. The other dwarves were taking it in turns to be with him, as Fili had to support Thorin and couldn’t be with him all the time. It was embarrassing but he’d reached the stage where he was so knackered he no longer had the energy to protest. He swore this baby was trying to kill him.

A large hand carded through his hair.

‘He still being sick?’

‘Yes, though it is less than yesterday, I think he may be getting better’

‘Oin said it would drop away eventually, we just need to keep giving him plenty of fluids in the mean time. Has he been drinking?’

‘Yes, he’s had at two jugs already’

‘’HE’ hasn’t lost his hearing and is still capable of answering for himself’ Kili butted in angrily. 

Thorin and Fili seemed to find his little outburst amusing judging by the smiles on their faces. It was a pretty funny sight, curled up as he was into Fili’s shoulder, he looked like a spitting kitten. Albeit a rather unwell one. Fili seemed to find it particularly amusing judging by the chuckling rumbling through the chest beneath his ear. Fili would no longer be forgiven if he kept laughing like that, it wasn’t funny and the movement of his chest was making him feel sick again. 

‘Stay still!’ followed by a thump in the stomach was enough to get him to subside.

A more sombre look replaced the rare smile on Thorin’s face, though the hand kept petting his hair.

‘The ceremony is in an hour Kili, I need you there to present the pregnancy. Are you able to get up?’

No, Kili thought, if he was being honest with himself but that wasn’t an acceptable answer. He had to be there to verify the declaration which would bolster his Uncle’s claim of the Throne . Kili also didn’t want to appear that weak in front of Thorin. It had always been a matter of pride for him to try and appear strong and capable in front of his Uncle. He knew he’d been a disappointment in other ways, refusing to follow silly traditions and choosing a bow as his main weapons but at least he was always capable of pulling his weight. The finest archer and best hunter in Ered Luin, his ability to provide meat for the exiles had earned him their respect and he wasn’t going to let that hard won esteem go so easily. So, instead of pulling the coverlet over his head and burying himself further into his brother’s chest, he hauled himself into a sitting position using Fili as leverage. 

His stomach lurched and Kili swallowed desperately to keep its contents down, feeling his brother’s arm and his Uncle’s hand supporting him. 

This would be an awful lot easier if the mountain stopped spinning, he thought. Closing his eyes to centre himself, he gasped out,

‘I’m good’

A disbelieving snort emanated from Fili, which earned him another thump, this time to his leg. Opening his eyes to glare at his brother, he turned to his Uncle.

‘I’ll be there, just don’t expect me to talk’

A huff of laughter and an unusual look of pride from their uncle made Kili’s heart swell. It helped to strengthen his will to get back on his feet. He smiled up at Thorin, noticing for the first time the fancy clothes he was wearing. 

‘Where did the glad rags come from?’

Reaching out to feel the rich velvet fabric he noticed that it was embroidered with gold and lined with silk, materials he had only seen on his mothers treasured feast dresses that were a remnant of her lost home. However, underneath the brocade fabric he could see the linings of the gambeson his uncle had worn to the battle, a reminder that all may not go well today. 

‘Dori and Ori dug them out of a store room somewhere, there are sets for you two as well, though they had to guess at your fittings, Kili, since you were not able to be measured.’

Though not normally a vain dwarf Kili was happy to have another set of clothing than the poorer quality, oversized, rather dirty and smelly stuff they’d be given at Laketown. Their own clothes still lay somewhere in Thranduil’s dungeon, though according to the hobbit he had promised to return them along with their weapons.

‘I’ll leave you to get dressed. Fili will help you and do your braids’

‘Braids? Do I really have to wear braids?’

‘Yes, you will present yourself properly at this ceremony Kili’

Command thus given, Thorin left the room, leaving Kili to contemplate the arduous challenge ahead.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Fili stood proudly at the right hand side of his Uncle in the Hall of Thror, Kili standing on Thorin’s left. He was holding up well, despite his illness only looking a bit pale and quiet. The traditional braids of a Bearer in his hair had caused a bit of a ruckus when he came into the hall, not to mention the trouble it had given Fili to convince Kili and his wayward hair to accept the braids once he realised what they symbolised. Getting braids in Kili’s hair had always been a battle, one even their mother had rarely won but it was something Fili could just about manage when necessary. A lifetime of constantly being with his brother had taught him plenty of tricks to make Kili do what he wanted and for this day he would make his brother look respectable whether he liked it or not. 

All of the Dwarves in Erebor were assembled in the Hall for the public claiming of the Throne. The company stood around the throne, arrayed in the finest cloth Ori could find and made for a fine sight. Fili looked resplendent, if he did say so himself, in a royal blue tunic with fur collar and red and gold embroidery, but concealed beneath the silks and velvets they all bore their under-armour and had their weapons at their side. Now was the time they would find out if there would be any trouble. 

Nori, Bofur and Bombur had done their work well and their reports were encouraging. Apart from a core group of ardent supporters most of the dwarves of the Iron Hills were not as sold on the belief of Dain’s right to the Throne as they had previously believed, especially those who were originally from the Lonely Mountain themselves. Fundamentally, they were good, honest dwarves and wanted a king that was best for their people. Dain would have them believe that he was more fit then Thorin but they remained unconvinced of this without proof, proof that Dain was hoping to provide with the Arkenstone. 

Seeing that all was in place, Balin stepped forward and intoned in a loud but clear voice,

‘Thorin Oakenshield, son of Thror, son of Thrain of unbroken line to Durin himself, father of the clan of the Longbeards, reclaims the Throne of Erebor for his line. Are there any who can how just cause why he should not be King?’

Fili’s heart swelled with pride hearing the traditional words spoken. For a moment silence reigned.

‘I, Dain, son of Nain, son of Gror of the line of Durin, father of the clan of Longbeards, contests this claim. Thorin, son of Thror is unfit to rule this house as he, like his forbearers, has fallen to the Dragon Sickness and will lead this clan into ruin’

Loud cries of denial and anger greeted this objection, loudest from the Company but also from many of Dain’s own followers. As they’d anticipated this must be his Plan B after his original one of finding the stone hadn’t worked out, something that wouldn’t hold as much weight with the other Iron Hill dwarves who hadn’t witnessed Thorin’s lapse. 

‘Will you respond, Thorin son of Thrain?’

‘Yes, I do not deny that both my ancestors and myself have experienced the Dragon Sickness yet I have recovered this blood taints the line of Dain also. I am the direct male line descendent of Durin. The Arkenstone, the mighty symbol of the King under the Mountain has come to me and Mahal has blessed my line by providing my sister son, Kili son of Gylfi, with a child. Bilbo, would you bring the stone forward.’

A whole room full of eyes, which had previously been examining Kili’s braids and the slight swell of his stomach, shifted back to the hobbit, who came forward pulling the stone from the pocket of a very fine waistcoat with shining gold buttons and handing it to Thorin. 

At these sort of ceremonies, Fili was usually the one getting stared at by other dwarves. His shining golden hair was unusual among their people and highly prized which, along with his looks and position of heir to the line of Durin (albeit in exile), meant that he spent most of his time with hundreds of eyes following his every move. As much as outwardly he grumbled at the constant supervision a part of him really rather liked the recognition he got. It was an odd feeling to have the attention turned elsewhere for a while but it gave him the opportunity to study the reactions of the Iron Hills dwarves to see how Thorin was being received. Amazement was the main reaction so far, most had been very shocked when Kili’s pregnancy was announced and they’d only become more so when the stone was revealed. Some dwarves were looking covetously at Kili or the stone but that was reasonably normal, it didn’t mean they were going to act on it. A bit more worrying were the Dwarves that were looking angry, their hands gripping the handles of their weapons. Nori, Bombur and Bofur were keeping an eye on those they knew may be the main trouble makers but it didn’t hurt if Fili also marked them. 

‘Let it be seen that the Arkenstone has returned to the rightful King under the Mountain. It shall remain in the safekeeping of my company until such time as the Throne can be repaired’

With that, Thorin made a show of handing the stone back to Bilbo, who bowed and accepted it. Thus proving that the Dragon Sickness, which would have prevented any dwarf infected from giving away a precious stone, no longer had any hold over him and that he was in possession of the Arkenstone itself. It had been Fili’s idea to do it this way and he desperately hoped it would work.

This was it, Fili thought, discreetly taking a deep breath in preparation . His job, should all hell break loose, was to fight alongside his Uncle, showing the strength of the heirs of his line. He had wanted to be the one charged with ensuring Kili was protected but that job had gone to Bifur, as he was needed with his Uncle. Glancing sideways to see how Kili was faring he noticed an Iron Hill dwarf edging his way closer to the left side of the raised area they were standing on, a quick peek at Nori reassured him that it had been noticed. Though outwardly calm as always, a bead of sweat trickled down his back.

‘Do the dwarves here assembled accept the claim of Thorin, son of Thrain?’ Balin intoned.

The resounding ‘AYE’ was deafening. Loudest of all from the company but also joined by the vast majority of the Iron Hill lot.

‘Who supports the claim of Dain, son of Nain?’

A much smaller yell from only 20 or so dwarves. Dain looked furious yet didn’t seem to be preparing an attack.

‘The Dwarrows have spoken. Thorin, son of Thrain, come forward and accept the helm of Durin’

Thorin knelt in front of the broken throne as Balin placed the helm on his head and the ring of state on his finger. As he arose a great cheer resounded.

At the same time, a brief scuffle seemed to break out on the left and right of the Throne. It was all over quickly as Nori’s bongy-knocker struck an attacking dwarf across the jaw sending him flying across the room and Bofur’s mattock came down on another’s head knocking him out cold. Seeing their friends thus dispatched, Dain’s other supporters decided that discretion was the better part of valour and stayed exactly where they were.

Now the ceremony required each and every dwarf, in order of rank, to come forward and kiss the hand of the king to individually give thier fielty. Fili, as heir was first, kneeling quickly and grasping his Uncle’s hand, triumph in his eyes. A rather pale Kili was next, though he was a little slower at moving. Kneeling before Thorin with clear reluctance, Dain grasped his hand and faked a kiss to the ring hissing through his teeth,

‘This is not over Thorin’

One by one, having formed a surprisingly orderly queue, the other dwarves made their obeisance to their new King. It took quite a long time, there were a lot of dwarves in Dain’s army and Fili’s feet were starting to hurt before the end.

To his Uncle’s left, Kili swayed a little and swallowed heavily.

‘Uncle’ he said quietly.

‘Yes Kili?’ Thorin replied out the corner of his mouth while accepting the obeisance of another dwarf. There were only a few left now and his neck was getting sore from all the nodding.

‘I think I need to sit down’ was Kili’s painful admittance.

That said, he suddenly collapsed right before their eyes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please don't kill me :-)


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> So peeps, this is what you've all been waiting for! Hope you like it. :-D

Thorin sat at the feast, if it could be called such given the limited amount of food they had, his heart feeling lighter than it had in a hundred years, even if it was consumed with worry for Kili. 

It had been a heart stopping moment when Kili fainted at the coronation. The poor foot soldier about to kneel before Thorin hadn’t known what to do with himself when he’d suddenly ended up with an armful of pregnant prince. Thankfully, he had manage to catch him and save poor Kili from a nasty bump to the noggin. He had woken up quickly enough and, after a rigorous examination, Oin had pronounced that it was nothing too serious, just that standing for that long had been too much for him after not being able to keep much food down recently. 

Thorin was still mentally kicking himself for not being more aware of his little ones health and Fili had been almost inconsolable. Anyway, he’d been tucked up in bed with a good meal and had Ori to keep an eye on him. 

The ancient dwarf sitting opposite him smiled as he caught the King’s eye. Thorin vaguely remembered him from before the Fall as one of the younger member of the King’s advisors but couldn’t for the life of him remember his name. 

‘Congratulations on Mahal’s blessing on your family, is the lad alright?’ 

‘Thank you, yes, he is doing well. He was just exhausted as he has been a bit ill recently’

‘Oh, that is good, I was worried for him. Have you planned when you will have the wedding? I used to be your Grandfather’s Master of Ceremonies and I could arrange it, should you be willing to reappoint me to the post’

‘Wedding?’ for a moment Thorin was absolutely baffled as to what the elder was talking about.

‘Yes, the wedding for the young Prince with the child’s father. You are planning one, correct? It is the law, according to the rules as laid down by Durin himself. Who is the father by the way?’

Dumbfounded, Thorin shared an amazed look with Fili, who had been listening in and looked as startled as he felt. In all the chaos with Thorin’s illness, the Battle of Five Armies and the worry over Dain’s plan, they had completely forgotten that there would even be father, let alone that Kili would have to marry them according to the laws of their people. Not a law that could be ignored either, as it concerned the rights of the father over the child and its mother. Dwarves, by nature, were extraordinarily protective of their rights and anything that sought to interfere with those rights, such as disregarding this law, would strike at the heart of their society. Something Thorin would hesitate to do at times of plenty and peace let alone when his rule was new and precarious. 

Fili managed to pull himself together far faster than Thorin to answer the old dwarf.

‘Kili requested that we do not yet reveal the name of the father, given the stress he’s already been under with the battle and coronation. You understand, of course. It is something we are planning to announce in due course.’

Though the elder dwarf was nodding understandingly, he looked as if he was still going to press the point of the wedding, so Thorin butted in.

‘I would be grateful if you would rejoin my council of advisors, honoured father, and the wedding will occur when things are more settled. We are hoping that the Dwarves currently in Ered Luin will arrive in time to attend, so it will not be for some time yet’

Disaster had been averted but it was something that preyed upon his mind for the rest of the evening. Once the feast had ended and all the others had gone to seek their beds, he pulled Fili aside.

‘We cannot disturb him this evening but tomorrow Kili needs to tell us who the father is. I will need you there if he decides to be stubborn about it. You are best at getting him to answer.’

‘Yes, Uncle’

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

The mulish set to Kili’s jaw and the crossed arms were signs that this conversation was not going well.

They’d been arguing with Kili for almost an hour now and he was still not budging on revealing who the father is. Exasperated by his little brother, Fili tried another tack.

‘Kili, what purpose is served by you refusing to answer? Eventually you will have to let them know. It is their child as well!’

‘I will not have yet another person telling me what I can and cannot do! The two of you are bad enough!’

Frustrated, Fili slipped up and burst out,

‘Do you even know who it is? Is that why you won’t say? Because you don’t know!’

‘Of course I know!

Seeing that this might dissolve into one of their famously childish arguments Thorin interceded.

‘Enough! Kili, you know the law. You will have to marry the father to legitimise the child. I have permitted you to bend many of our rules before but this one you cannot get away with. However, if you tell us, we will not reveal this to the father until absolutely necessary if that is what you want. This I promise.’

‘I know the law Uncle and, yes, I will have to marry the father. However, the law does not state when I must do this. As far as I believe, I could marry the dwarf in a hundred years on his deathbed and still be within the letter of the law’

Sometimes Thorin really wished that his sister had birthed stupid children. They would have been much easier to handle. Moving forward he sat on the ede of the bed and grasped his nephew's hand.

‘Kili, please, you know my reign is as yet unstable. You defying one of the fundamental laws of our people will not help to solidify our claim to Erebor. Would you see all you’ve worked for lost to Dain because the people disapprove of you and your offspring? I need you to obey me on this one.’

Seeing Kili was starting to soften, Fili jumped in.

‘Besides, it would be cruel to expose your child to such censure and to not know his father. Don’t you remember how much we wanted our father when we were little and he was gone?’

It was the killer blow, timed to perfection, and Kili finally admitted defeat but not before extracting a few concessions from his Uncle.

‘Very well, I will tell you but only if you agree to a few things as well. First, I do not have to marry him until the exiles have arrived from Ered Luin. Second, I get to tell him myself and I will tell him before I tell you. Third, you will stop being so ridiculous and let me out of this blasted bed. I am going crazy cooped up in here!’

‘You understand that we will have to announce the father in advance of the wedding?’

‘Yes’

‘and that you will need to tell them within the next two weeks’

‘two weeks?!’ catching sight of his Uncle’s glare he subsided ‘alright, two weeks’

‘and that if we allow you to get up you must agree to follow Oin’s instructions to the letter’

‘Oh but!’ ....’KILI’...’Yes, fine’ 

‘Then we have a deal’

Reaching forward Thorin shook his nephews hand to seal the agreement. He was exhausted and the day had barely begun. Negotiating with Kili was far harder than any ornery elder and the training would serve him well for the coming years. He wasn’t please with not immediately finding out who the father is but a hundred years of waiting to reclaim Erebor had taught him patience. Two more weeks he could cope with.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

‘Is it mine?’

No ‘hello Kili, how are you’ or ‘Kili, can I talk to you’, just a hand around his arm dragging him down a corridor away from prying eyes and a three word demand.

‘Hello Dwalin, I’m fine thank you, yes it is lovely weather we’re having’ 

Dwalin loomed over him, hidden in the shadows. Even unable to see his face Kili could tell he was less than impressed and judging from his dusty and worn clothing he had come from another frustrating day of trying to get the dwarves of Erebor in some sort of order. Though Dain had left a considerable portion of his army, most of whom originated from Erebor, had chosen to stay. Though this was a positive sign of the acceptance of Thorin’s reign and good for the population of Erebor, they all had their opinions on how the place should be run and Dwalin had the unenviable task of getting them in order. A task that left him short-tempered at the best of times and today he looked particularly grumpy. His question must have been spurred by listening to the gossip that hard started about Kili.

His two weeks were almost up and Kili still hadn’t decided what to do. Fili had begun dropping hints about picking a dwarf and announcing it himself if Kili didn’t get a move on and he could see why. Kili’s bump was definitely starting to show and combined with his constant, if lessening illness, had started talk among the dwarves in Erebor.

He hadn’t lied when he told Fili and Thorin that he knew who the father was. The only problem was that Kili wasn’t sure that the father was someone he would be willing to marry. For now, he was the only one that knew the truth so he could pick any of the dwarves as the father and everyone would be none the wiser. Until the child grew up and started resembling someone else, of course, but perhaps that storm may be weathered easier than having to live under the command of a strong dwarf for his whole life. After all, the bond of marriage was sacred and could not be broken even if it was based on erroneous beliefs. However, the shame this would eventually bring on his family, and on the child who wouldn’t get to know his true father made him hesitate. That combined with the fact he really didn’t want another dwarf adding more restrictions made him drag his feet. 

‘Tell me’

Brought abruptly out of his thoughts, Kili looked up into Dwalin’s face. In the darkness, Kili couldn’t see Dwalin’s expression, making it somewhat difficult to judge how he was going to take the answer to his question.

Kili was torn. Does he say yes and then have the protection and aid of one of the strongest Dwarves he knows. Dwalin was good with children and Kili had secretly fancied him for decades. However, it would give him complete control over Kili’s every action. Allowing such a forceful and commanding dwarf such power over him was a frightening thought, especially one as notoriously over protective as Dwalin.

Or does he say no and deny Dwalin the rights to the child, thus relieving the older dwarf of a potentially unwanted responsibility. He didn’t even know if Dwalin wished for children. Though good with other people’s children, he’d never shown any inclination to have any of his own but that didn’t mean he didn’t want them. Saying no could deprive the child of his rightful father.

The freedom Kili would gain by denying Dwalin would only last a short time. He would have to marry one of the other Dwarves anyway. After all there couldn’t be a bastard born in the Line of Durin, the scandal would be unbearable. He may be willing to ignore the rules and accept the censure it occasionally brought upon him but he could never do it to his child. However, the other potential fathers might make more malleable husbands, ones more willing to let Kili have some control in the relationship. 

‘Kili, answer me, I have waited long enough to know’

In the end, the only thing he could do was tell the truth. Ducking his head, his heart hammered as he replied in a small voice aimed at his feet,

‘Yes’

The next thing he knew he was being swooped up and swung around in Dwalin’s arms as the older Dwarf whooped joyously in his ear. When Kili’s feet finally reacquainted themselves with the floor his head was spinning.

It was safe to say Dwalin was happy with the outcome. 

‘Oh Kili, you beauty, thank you, thank you, thank you’

Dwalin didn’t kiss Kili, that would have been too forward before they were married, but he didn’t lean down to rest his forehead against Kili’s. 

‘You are pleased, then?’ 

Dwalin threw his head back and gave a big booming laugh. 

‘Can’t you tell?’

His meaty paw moved from around Kili’s waist to cradle his chin, tipping his head back so their eyes met. Kili smiled weakly up at the older man.

‘I am very pleased, my pretty, come let us go to your Uncle. We need to discuss when we will marry’

Never one for words, Dwalin seemed to believe he had said enough for the matter to be conclusively settled. Taking Kili by the hand started pulling him back towards the room where Thorin was holding court. 

‘No, wait!’ 

Perplexed, Dwalin turned back to his strangely reluctant (in his eyes) future spouse.

‘I need to tell the others first, they deserve to know before everyone else finds out’ 

‘The others?’

‘The other dwarves who could have been the father, Dwalin, I need to tell them first and Uncle, of course’

‘Thorin does not know already?’

‘No’

‘Then it’s time for him to find out, Come’

With that, Kili was towed forward towards the throne room once more.

‘Dwalin, stop!’

Kili dug his heels in. This sudden assumption of command by Dwalin had been precisely what he had been so worried about and this was not a promising start. However, Dwalin did halt when asked. A scarred eyebrow rose questioningly.

‘What now, Kili?’

‘Uncle is holding court, there will be dozens of dwarves in there, we cannot just barge in. We will have to wait until this evening, when we can talk to him in private.’

A deep sigh left the older dwarf before he gathered Kili gently into his arms. 

‘It is important to you that this is private?’ 

Kili nodded. 

‘This evening it is then’ 

Relieved, Kili smiled gratefully up at the other dwarf, happy at this display of a willingness to listen to his wishes.

Dwalin smiled back before pulling him close and resting his head on top of Kili’s gently, breathing in the scent of his future spouse. A sudden thought occurred to him.

‘Shouldn’t you be resting?’


	11. Interlude

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A little interlude concerning Dwalin's love

Dwalin had been watching Kili for years.

For a long time he’d been nothing more than the adorable little nephew of his closest friend, a small endearing bundle of wild brown hair and big eyes following him around like a particularly lively shadow.

Dwalin had always loved children, but the two heirs of Durin were something special. Fili, so much like a blonde version of his uncle but calmer and more pragmatic, even as a child, but beneath that relaxed demeanour lay a little tyrant in the making. Almost as mischievous as Kili but his plans were better thought through so he wasn’t caught as easily in being naughty and often managed to get out of trouble even when he was. He’d had his Uncle’s commanding presence even as a child and was shaping up to make a fine heir.

Kili, little Kili, for all his height now had been the tiniest of dwarflets in his early years. Born early and sickly initially because of it he’d worried his uncle from the start. It didn’t get much better as he’d grown older, he strengthened quickly as he grew and the constant illness was replaced by inexhaustible energy that, combined with his habit of disappearing off whenever something caught his eye, had certainly kept both Dwalin and Thorin battle fit as well as giving them a few heart attacks along the way.

The only time Kili would sit still is when he’d managed to convince Dwalin to tell him another war story. Then he would sit either on Dwalin’s knee or at his feet, eyes staring up worshipfully up at the older Dwarf. Dis had tried to stop him ‘bothering’ Dwalin but he hadn’t minded at all, willing to do anything for his little Durin.

Then they’d grown up. Dwalin hadn’t seen it happen, he’d had to leave the group to find work elsewhere and had been gone for almost 40 years, though he had come back for visits as often as he could. Eventually Thorin’s forge was doing well enough to support another dwarf and he’d invited Dwalin to come back and work for him. 

He’d arrived back just in time for Kili’s 70th birthday party, his majority celebration. It was a huge event in a young dwarf’s life signifying his transition into adulthood. After going to his brothers to make himself look a little more respectable he presented himself at Thorin’s and got the shock of his life. His little lads were no longer quite so little.

Fili had grown into a fine handsome dwarf his shining golden hair neatly braided but with the same sly smile he’d had since childhood slightly hidden behind an impressive beard growth for a young lad. 

Kili, on the other hand, had changed enormously. The wild hair was still the same, though it looked like someone had tried to tame it into braids for the party, as were the big brown eyes still glittering with mischief but his other features had sharpened and developed into a startling, if unconventional, beauty. He had shot up in height, now almost as tall as Thorin, and his small frame had become lean and athletic. Sharp cheekbones and thick brows framed those lovely eyes and below was a lush mouth with a big smile that looked utterly fuckable.

Wait, what?

Startled by the direction to which his thoughts had strayed, he fumbled through greeting the family. Pressing a kiss to Dis’ hand and sharing an arm thump with Thorin and Fili (who was trying to present himself as all grown up) before Kili came flying in for a hug, chattering away at one hundred miles per hour. 

Dwalin stiffened instinctively at the sudden attack but quickly returned the hug with some ‘manly’ pats on Kili’s back. Even in the short time of the hug, before Kili let go and zoomed off to the next Exciting Thing at his party, he couldn’t help but notice the tight, slick muscles pressed against his front and under his hands.

This was not good. He drifted through the rest of the party in a bit of a daze, unable to keep his eyes from straying towards the birthday boy. Dwalin, you old pervert, he thought.

He’s passed his majority, he’s available. The treacherous part of his mind added in. 

Dwalin quickly made his escape as soon as he politely could, claiming tiredness from his journey, drawing teasing from Kili about getting old, which really didn’t help at all.

Trudging back to Balin’s in the cold, he swore to himself he would not touch the lad until he was older, at least 80, he thought and even then not without his Uncle’s permission. He would not break the precious trust that Thorin had in him. 

It was going to be a difficult few years.

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Dwalin’s prediction turned out to be painfully right.

Kili had continued to grow into a beautiful young dwarf and started garnering attention from all corners. He’d begun to become aware of the effect his looks had on others and had been testing his flirting technique with everyone who stood still for long enough, including Dwalin. 

He was surprisingly effective at it for a novice. Dwalin had had to send him off with a flea in his ear a few times just to cover his inappropriate reaction to the teasing.

It became ever more of a trial when Bombur’s wife had two more children. Dwalin’s love of children turned into an ache that lodged permanently in his heart. He desperately wanted his own children, it called to him every time he saw a child. Every time he heard one yell ‘Daddy!’ It hurt so much that their love and joy did not belong to him.

This was another reason why Kili was even more off-limits then previously, he would not risk (small risk though it was) getting the young ones heart when Dwalin would not marry any but a female. Not that Thorin would allow the match even if he was willing, he may just be forgiven for lying with Kili, but marriage was another matter entirely. However, the need to have a child over-rode even his partiality for Thorin’s nephew and for male company in general.

He’d realised that it was more than lust one ordinary summers day in Ered Luin. Dwalin and Thorin had been working in the forge while Fili and Kili sat out in the sun fletching arrows. He couldn’t remember what they were talking about but when Kili had turned those sparkling eyes up at Dwalin, laughing at something he’d said and his heart had caught. It had startled him so much he had almost missed the anvil on his next swing, drawing light-hearted mocking from Thorin. He’d known from that moment onwards that Kili was his One but he wouldn’t (couldn’t) accept it.

It didn’t stop him from looking though. It didn’t stop him from burning with a disturbing amount of jealousy when Kili starting having discreet little affairs with Dwarves of a similar age to him. Few adults would touch him for fear of Thorin’s wrath but that didn’t stop the braver, or more foolhardy, among his childhood companions. 

He managed to make it all the way until Kili was 75 without getting caught. There was a feast celebrating something or other, he couldn’t remember what. Whatever it was, he’d ended up reminiscing with Thorin about Erebor’s mighty feasts for a while, enjoying the company of his closest friend, before Thorin’s attention was diverted by an officious little dwarf who insisted on clarifying something about the next months food supply that he absolutely needed to know Right Now. This gave Dwalin’s mind (and eyes) time to wander onto more interesting things. It wasn’t long before they’d latched onto Thorin’s luscious nephew, laughing happily on the other side of the room. It was late and he was rather drunk and not taking as much care as normal about letting his interest show when he heard a throat rather pointedly cleared at his side. 

His heart froze. Turning slowly he bravely met the burning eyes of his dearest friend. Mahal, receive me in the halls of our ancestors, I’m done for. He was Thorin’s closest friend. The only one he would trust enough to join in companionship. Even thinking what he did was a betrayal.

‘You lust after Kili?’

Typical Thorin, no pussy-footing around. Dwalin was no dissembler, concealing the truth when directly questioned was difficult for him. Even attempting to lie was pointless with Thorin, they’d been through so much together that they could read each other like open books. The only way to answer was the truth.

‘He is my One’

Thorin’s eyebrows shot up so fast Dwalin thought he might lose them in his hair. Surprisingly, he was not immediately dragged out to the garden and beaten to a bloody pulp for his presumption. Instead, Thorin went silent and turned back to watching the assembled company. Uneasy, Dwalin did similarly until Thorin’s voice caught his attention once more. 

‘Dwalin.... You are a fine dwarf but you know I could never approve the match. I need him to secure the House of Durin so cannot give him away as I should like, even if it pains me to do so’

Turning towards Dwalin he met his eyes and frankly said,

‘I am sorry’

Dwalin let out the breath he didn’t even know he was holding. Despite all his dreams of children and oaths of fidelity, he couldn’t help the tendril of disappointment that curled around his heart. 

‘I understand’

After another long pause, while the two friends stood side by side, Thorin once again broke the silence. 

‘I would not object to you taking pleasure with him, as long as you did not hurt him’

Which would be worse, Dwalin wondered, to have and then loose or never have at all?

‘Not a good idea’

A sideways glance.

‘Fair enough’

Matter closed.

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His resolution only lasted two more years before he caved in to his desires. The Quest for Erebor had been a serious undertaking and he’d been fully prepared to lay down his life to help his Shield Brother reclaim his rightful throne.

What he had not expected was having to watch Kili take companionship with the other dwarves. Dwalin had thought that the fear of Thorin’s wrath would be enough to deter the others from approaching the heirs of Durin but Bofur was a Broadbeam, not a Longbeard and evidently didn’t feel quite as in awe of Thorin as the exiles. Once he’d approached, been accepted and had faced no adverse consequences it had set a precedent for the others. 

Dwalin could just about cope with the unobtrusive rendezvous Kili had previously but this was beyond his forbearance. It was excruciating.

It had been embarrassing how quickly he had surrendered to his need to posses the youngling. He’d lost control just outside of the Shire when he had seen Bofur eyeing Kili up, probably hoping for another go, and had pulled the lad into a clearing just out of earshot of the camp before finally fulfilling his fantasy.

It had been everything he’d dreamed about and more. Kili had been even more beautiful unclothed and, after a little hesitation, an enthusiastic participant. He’d responded to Dwalin’s passion magnificently, sweetly submissive in a way that had set his blood on fire yet ardent and confident rather than meek. It’d been all Dwalin could do not to mark him as his own.

Seeing him continue to take pleasure with others along the road had been a sore trial of his self-control. Bofur especially had seem to delight in tormenting Dwalin by approaching Kili frequently and, by the challenging looks he’d thrown Dwalin when no-one else could see, he was very well aware of the old warrior’s feeling on the matter. At times he’d been tempted to wring the blasted toymakers neck with his bare hands but had managed to restrain himself. After all, Thorin wouldn’t like it if he killed one of his company. 

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When they’d finally reclaimed Erebor and Kili had announced his pregnancy he’d had a surge of hope. He knew he was the last dwarf to lay with him, though this was no guarantor that he was the father, it gave him a good chance. As the father he would have a claim over both his beloved Kili and the child he’d wanted for so long. Thorin could not deny him Kili’s hand when he carried his child. It was almost too good to be true.

Events had overtaken them after Kili’s announcement and the matter of fatherhood had been pushed to the back of his mind until the revolting speculation of the dwarves from the Iron Hills had prompted him to seek Kili out to demand the truth. 

The answer had given him such joy. Apparently, Mahal had some love left for this worn old warrior.


	12. Chapter 12

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Life begins to return to normal in Erebor.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For the purposes of this chapter i've assumed that the Battle of Five armies occured in November as suggested by the Tolkien Gateway.
> 
> http://tolkiengateway.net/wiki/Battle_of_five_armies
> 
> Sorry about the delay on this chapter, I had a touch of writers block. The next one should be later today as it's been written for ages and just needs a few tweeks.

‘Please don’t cry! I’m sorry, I really am but please, please don’t cry’

Feeling a little helpless, Kili watched as tears built in Ori’s soft eyes. Thankfully, the new maturity given by the quest and final battle enabled him to pull himself together before they started to fall. Sniffing a little, he met Kili’s eyes with a watery smile.

‘I had hoped... you always were so kind to me but I knew it could never really be me, deep down. I hope whoever it is appreciates you as much as I do’

Touched, Kili pulled him into a friendly hug. 

‘You will meet someone, i’m sure. Who will love you as you deserve to be loved’ 

‘Thank you Kili, you’re a good friend. So, for the record, who is the father?’

Relieved, Kili told him. This was the last of these difficult conversations and he was glad to have them done. Nori had been easy, pleased to be free of a burden he was in no way prepared to take. There had been no real possibility of it being Dori considering how long it had been since they last lay together, something that Dori had already recognised before Kili even approached and Bifur had just nodded and smiled and shouted ‘Not Dead protect’ in Khuzdul before bowing. Kili had no idea what this meant but hoped Bifur understood.

Bofur had been the most upsetting. His genuine disappointment had been painful to see. He’d reached up and stroked Kili’s cheek softly, attempting to muster a shadow of his normal cheer.

‘Well now, i’m sorry to hear that’ 

‘I hope he comes to deserve you, my lad’ had been all he had said of Dwalin. 

If he hadn’t decided to stick with the truth, Bofur would have been the one would have chosen to be the father. Easy going and cheerful, Bofur would have made a good father and there was certainty a greater chance of it being a more equal relationship. It perhaps wouldn’t have been the deepest of loves but at least they would have been happy.

They’d been avoiding each other a bit since, Kili finding it difficult to cope with Bofur’s disappointment and Bofur not wanting to see what he could not have. He hoped it was just a temporary thing and would fade in time. He missed the Broadbeam’s quirky sense of humour and ability to lighten any situation.

Thorin and Fili already knew, of course. Apart from Dwalin, they had been the first to know. Dwalin had only waited just long enough for council to finish and for the sun to drop enough for it to be called evening before barging in on Thorin and Fili, towing Kili along behind him, and announcing the news. 

Kili had been worried about telling Thorin. Fili wouldn’t care who it was as long as they made Kili happy but Thorin had a lot more riding on Kili’s marriage. It was expected that Thorin marry his heirs off for political gain, he was the head of their family so could dispose of them as he chose, so having such a spoke thrown into his plans might not be welcome, despite the father being Dwalin. Dwalin and Thorin were best friends and shield brothers but marriage was rather different to just lying together. However, he’d been very happy at the news. Fili thought it might be because it took the pressure of him of dealing with Kili’s suitors, especially Dain, and allowed him to reward Dwalin all at once. Whatever the reason, Kili was not complaining. He was just thankful it had all worked out relatively smoothly and Dain, and his complaints about not having him as first wife, had now left Erebor. His dark looks and angry mutterings had been disturbing and he was glad to have him gone. 

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Dain had left in the Huff of all Huffs shortly after the coronation. Losing his claim because of his own people and the humiliation of over half of them staying behind cut deep within him.

It was compounded by annoyance on having missed out on have a Bearer as first wife. Dain had offered for Kili when he was still a child, mainly to get closer to the royal line but had been put off by Thorin because of Kili’s age and then later in favour of a Firebeard. Irritated, impatient and eager to secure an heir he had married a minor noble’s daughter instead. She had done her duty in providing a son but the lack of connections had made her next to useless once the child was weaned. Fortunately she had passed away of an illness not long afterwards. 

It had been his intention to keep the eldest Durin lad, Fili, as consort once he had the Throne. It would have looked generous for the Erebor dwarves, to unite the two lines (even if it was as second wife) and help secure their support of his reign. It also gave him access to that fine young body and all that glorious golden hair. The younger of the two, pretty as he was, was to be used for the pleasure of his most loyal supporters. Dain had promised them the greater part of the spoils of Erebor and the second prince counted among them, partly as punishment for his Uncle’s rejection of his suit. 

His plans had been foiled. Lost because of the treachery of those he had so generously taken in and provided for when Erebor was lost all those years ago. All because of some ridiculous belief in the right of the Direct Line from Durin, despite the madness and the fact that Dain was a far better and more proven leader. Anger at the Royal Line festered within him as he sat brooding within his home. Once the claim to the Throne hadn’t worked out he’d tried to convince Thorin to unite their homes and settle any bad blood between them by giving him Kili to marry instead. He’d even offered to accept the babe even though it wasn’t his own! However, Thorin had been adamant that Kili had to marry the father, citing the old traditions he’d never been known to favour before. Dain had lost both this connection and a fairer share of the treasure he would have been entitled too as Kili’s husband. Another 14th of the treasure would have been his if only Thorin had seen sense.

The relative poverty of his position compared to them made him feel seriously aggrieved. The Iron Hills lived up to their name, being very rich in Iron Ore but not much else. There was only a little gold and no gem deposits what so ever. Iron was useful but it was nothing on the huge gold, silver and gem reserves of the Lonely Mountain or the Mithril of Khazhad-Dum. Moreover, the slag from Iron production gave everything a dirty dark tinge and the sulphur found in Iron Ore gave a permanent stench to the place that took a long time to get used to. 

It had been bearable when the Royal Line had been reduced to circumstances lower even then his but with them suddenly elevated above him once more the deprivation and penury he lived in oppressed him ever harder. While Kili’s wedding to whoever the father of the unnatural brat was, was being held in Erebor, Dain sat on his Iron Throne, planned and plotted. In the darkness of his halls murky strategies came to mind and he smiled into the gloom. He may have lost the battle but there was a war to be won yet and he would not fail this time. 

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Thorin stood on a balcony looking down at the bustle of activity below him happiness finally in his heart. Erebor was slowly coming back to life.

The halls of his ancestors had not been as badly damaged as they’d feared. The front gate and the path between the Entrance Hall, the Treasure Room and the Hall of Gems had been the only areas where the actual stone work and flooring had been smashed by Smaug. However, they were reparable and work was underway, the Iron Hill dwarves who chose to remain, ably supervised by Fili and Gloin, did most of it. Apart from these areas, the only other major problems were water ingress into some of the rooms closer to the surface and re-establishing the plumbing and sewerage systems. Bifur and Bofur had taken charge of repairing the water ingress and had been very skilled at finding and dealing with the problem. Bifur’s technique of licking the walls to find the water had been ... unusual... but whatever worked. Nori and Oin had set about making the sewerage and water systems work. Bombur and Dori managed the food supplies, Dwalin enforced law and order and sorted out the defences, while Bilbo, Ori and Balin worked to establish the rights of the Iron Hill dwarves and the Exiles to the halls of their ancestors. A difficult task that required hours of poring over old ledgers in the library to clarify who had owned what before the fall and dealing with (with Dwalin’s support) the inevitable arguments and dubious claims that arose.

Kili...well he was happily making Thorin pay for his insistence on following Oin’s recommendations to the letter by completely refusing to do anything strenuous. Not that he wasn’t making himself useful or helping out, just that he was cherry picking the nicest tasks and throwing Thorin’s commands back in his face if he objected. Helping with the repairs? Only the delicate scroll work, after all, heavy lifting wasn’t allowed. The waterproofing? Only finding the rooms, the repairs involved being suspended at heights and the harness would put undue pressure on his stomach. The sewage works? Only plotting them on the maps of Erebor, he wasn’t allowed near harsh smells in case they upset his tummy again. Establishing the rights of the incoming dwarves? Only looking through the old ledgers, dealing with the complaints would cause too much stress.

Funnily enough, he was still strong enough to sneak out with the human hunting parties and bring back food for the tables, even if it was against Oin’s orders and without permission. He was an excellent hunter, something even the Humans admitted. Nobody really minded his avoidance of the difficult tasks, they’d all do it themselves if they could. He did have to be careful while he was pregnant and the food he put on the table was always welcomed. 

After all, they’d all found something to avoid the worst of all the tasks that had to be done to repair their home, namely clearing out all the Dragon Dung that collected in huge piles in the hallways. Only the fresher stuff really smelled if you left it alone but once you disturbed the old piles the stench could make even the strongest of dwarves feel faint. Luckily, here the Humans staying in Erebor had come in very useful

Winter had come in fast and hard after the Battle of Five Armies, as it was now being called. With Laketown destroyed and Dale still in ruins, the Humans had no-where to go to escape the harsh conditions. In a fit of unusual generosity, Thorin had extended an invitation for them (and their remaining food supplies) to winter in Erebor, something Bard had leapt at. It certainly hadn’t been a mistake. Without their food, the Dwarves probably wouldn’t have made it through the winter and they’d also got stuck into whatever task they were assigned to with only minimal grumbling. They’d mainly cleaned up the decades of accumulated dust in the living areas but they’d also dealt with the Dragon Dung Problem. When Thorin had approached Bard about getting their help for it, he’d been talking with a farmer at the time. The farmers eyes had lit up with an unholy glee at the thought of the dung and had promptly rounded up every farmer and farm hand he could find to carefully collect and store it securely, muttering something about ‘perfect fertiliser’, whatever that meant. 

Thorin was convinced he would never understand humans. They were all completely crazy but if it made them happy who was he to object. The Humans (and their dung) along with a portion of the dwarven stone masons had left for the Dale as soon as spring arrived to begin establishing the farms and rebuilding the city. 

By midsummer the first of the caravans arrived from Ered Luin. The advance forces requested by Balin came foremost followed surprisingly swiftly by a steady stream of exiles with all of their worldly goods, small though they were, piled on the back of wagons. One of which included Bilbo’s belonging’s from Bag End, all carefully wrestled from the hands of the Sackville-Baggins’ and wrapped for transport. With Balin’s aid he’d sent a letter with a raven to the travelling exiles with details of his belongings and how it was to be disposed of. Bag End itself, with most of its furniture, was left to his nephew Frodo, with the Gamgees as temporary tenants until he came of age. He’d even sent the magic ring he’d got in Moria back as a present for his nephew, along with promises of a story book of his adventures. Only his most precious possessions had been brought to the Mountain.

Apparently, fulfilling this duty had been a little harder then Bilbo had expected. Some of Bilbo’s cousins, the Sackville-Baggins, had moved in and auctioned off Bilbo’s stuff but the Dwarves had turfed them out and faithfully rounded up all of his old possessions with the help of the other Hobbits. The exile’s detailed (and possibly embellished) stories of this battle had made Bilbo laugh and laugh to the point of tears, much to the joy of all around him. 

Smiling at the memory, Thorin’s gaze shifted to the Hobbit standing at his side. Golden beads and gems glittered in his curly hair, all courting gifts from Thorin. He’d settled into Erebor well and instead of building a hobbit hole outside the gates, Bilbo had insisted on a garden on the ledge by the back door, even keeping some of the dung for his own purposes. Something Thorin had been very happy to provide, though he did have one of the humans move the poo. Courting had been going very well and Bilbo even accepted a few stolen kisses from the King, which was a very good sign. Kili’s wedding was in one week, hopefully, his own would not be far behind.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> btw, if anyone fancies requesting any outtakes or even wants to prompt me to write something like at the Kink meme i'd be happy to oblige. It would help me get the literary juices flowing, as it were. I'll probably be going to the kink meme for ideas for the next story once this one is finished.


	13. Chapter 13

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Marriage time!! WARNING!! a lot of smut in this chapter.

‘Well now, Mr Baggins, you’ve seen a Dwarf wedding. How does it compare to a hobbit one?’

Ever eager for more information, Ori leant across the dining table, quill and notebook at the ready. The company sat at the high table on the dais, flanking Thorin to his right and left were Balin, Gloin Ori, Bombur and Bofur while Bilbo, Oin, Nori Bifur and Dori sat opposite. There were two empty chairs set aside for the newlyweds but they were currently on a tour of the room, greeting the guests. Well, Kili was greeting them as Dwalin stood with his arms crossed looking both proud, happy and intimidating at the same time. 

In between bites of rabbit hunted from the edges of Mirkwood, Bilbo answered his query.

‘It was surprisingly similar actually. Though there were rather less flowers and Hobbit weddings are usually outside. I was surprised to see that they didn’t kiss to seal the marriage as they would in a hobbit marriage’

Eyebrows rose around the table.

‘You mean they kiss, like in public?’ 

‘Well yes, Ori, it’s supposed to be their first kiss but in reality they would probably have shared a few before that...what? ...why are you all looking at me so shocked?’

Ever the diplomat, Balin stepped into explain.

‘Well you see laddie, kissing is not something Dwarves do in public, it’s strictly private and only after you are married. It’s a very erm.... intimate thing. Not something for general viewing’

‘Kissing in hobbits is only supposed to be after marriage too but no-one really sticks to it. Surely it must be similar here after all you all..erm lay... with each other on the quest’

‘Ahh but that was just sex, Mr Baggins’ Gloin expounded, ‘kissing is different, if a dwarf kissed someone before marriage...well...it would be indecent!’

‘but Thorin....’

Suddenly realising that he shouldn’t mention his and Thorin’s intimate moments after that explanation, Bilbo shut his mouth so fast his teeth clacked together. However, the damage had already been done as 11 heads swung around to look at Thorin, amazement clear on their faces.

‘Uncle!’ drawled Fili, managing to sound both scandalised and admiring at the same time. 

Thorin was definitely not blushing. It was only the heat of the room and the cast of the torches that was making his cheeks so red. Avoiding everyone’s eyes, yet still managing to look majestic as he did so, he sought to justify his actions for possibly the first time in his life. 

‘Bilbo had just agreed to accept my courtship, I was showing my ...appreciation.. by setting aside our ways to embrace Hobbit manners’

Suffice it to say no-one really believed him but Thorin was not the sort of person you called a liar to his face. Still, the braver among them, namely Balin and Fili, had enough courage to tease him.

‘So that is it’ Kili thought, looking down at the marriage band around his wrist ‘I’m married’

It was a very beautiful wedding band. Square gold pieces with raised fronts with mithril links in between, it was simple and handsome, without being gaudy. It was just right for a dwarf with plain tastes but of a high position. Given the opportunity, Kili might have picked it himself. 

It still looked remarkably like a manacle. 

It fit perfectly yet felt like it was squeezing the life out of him and weighing him down all at once. The inscription on the inside burned into his wrist proclaiming him now the property of another and no longer his own. He felt a bit sick at the thought. Taking a deep breath, he steadied himself and plastered a smile on his face for thanking the well-wishers at his wedding feast. All of the dwarves of Erebor had assembled in celebration and even some Broadbeams and Firebeards from Ered Luin came for the party. One notable absence was Dain who had sent a substitute with some spurious excuse about an emergency in the Iron Hills, though it was generally felt to not a great loss. He had put it off as long as he had been able, but now, 7 months into his pregnancy he was finally getting married.

At least it was Dwalin not some high-ranking stranger that Thorin needed an alliance with (or even worse, Dain). He shuddered at the thought of some of the noble dwarves that it had been suggested he was betrothed too. One worst had been King Hrolf of the Firebeards. He had been a fetid, incontinent old man, almost 200 years Kili’s senior with hardly any teeth left and a predilection for slobbering on Kili’s cheek and calling him his ‘little strumpet’. Politically it was a good match, he was a King of one of the 7 Royal Lines of Dwarves, even if it was only the remnants of that wasted house, and they inhabited the southern part of the Blue Mountains across the Gulf of Lune. It would also tie them closer to what was left of the Broadbeams who lived in the northern reaches of the Blue Mountains and had allowed the people of Erebor to live on their doorstep. It would have bound their houses together in strength for centuries, and provided protection for the Durin’s against their foes, something Thorin had sorely needed during his exile. Especially with Dain nipping at his heals and the younger Firebeards wanting a fight to claim the exile’s females to rebuild their house. Hrolf had taken a fancy to Kili during a Gathering and had set his mind on having him as his pretty, young spouse and Kili had been horrified. Admittedly, he was a reasonably kind old dwarf, interested in nothing more than Kili’s body and he had never tried to hurt him but still.

However somehow, and for a reason Thorin had never really explained, the official betrothal never quite happened. It kept getting put off ‘until Kili was of age’ until, luckily, Hrolf passed away in the meantime. Still the pseudo-betrothal had meant that the Firebeards had left the exiles in peace and gave Thorin a good excuse to turn Dain down when he had proposed having Kili as his first wife.

Maybe it wasn’t so bad, he reasoned. After all, he trusted Dwalin with his life and it did mean he got to stay in Erebor with his family rather than have to leave to wherever his husband might be. 

It was not like much would really change when he thought about it. He was now a ‘spouse of’ rather than a ‘son of’. His behaviour still monitored and held to certain standards, expected to perform his duty to his house and with little freedom to do as he pleased. The only thing that had really changed was that it was someone other than Thorin who could tell him off for misbehaving. 

That and the sex, of course. No more fun romps with friends or desperate couplings with warriors before battles, he is now only permitted to lay with one dwarf. Kili sighed at the loss of one of the few freedoms he’d had but it was a fair price to pay for not having to marry a complete stranger. It didn’t hurt that the few times he’d had with Dwalin had been nothing short of spectacular.

The memories of those incredible encounters made it even more bewildering that he was so nervous at the thought of his wedding night. He was sweating like a stuck pig but he couldn’t escape what was coming. Dwarves in general, and Dwalin in particular, were very particular about their rights and it was his right as a Husband to lay claim to his spouse. 

Deep breaths Kili, it’ll be alright, it’s only Dwalin.

Never before had Kili wished for the normally interminable speeches common at Dwarven feasts go on for longer but it appeared the time had come. He could see Dwalin crossing the hall towards him with a determined look on his face. The butterflies that had been flitting around his stomach suddenly turned into Gandalf’s eagles and they were all trying to leap out of his throat. He swallowed convulsively.

‘Are you alright, Kili?’ a quiet voice said at his ear.

‘What? .. oh yes, I’m fine Fili’ he said, not quite able to look his brother in the eye.

‘Kee, please’ Fili replied sadly, looking oddly downcast for a supposedly cheerful occasion. 

The use of his old nickname was oddly poignant but at the same time it brought a genuine smile to his face. No matter what happened, he would always have his family.

‘I’m just a bit nervous, Fee, really’ he turned to his brother and rested his forehead against Fili’s. ‘I’m so glad you are here’

‘As if i’d ever be anywhere else’

Kili leant more of his weight against Fili, breathing in his familiar scent, heart swelling with the love he had for his brother. Even though Fili was not going anywhere, he was going to miss him terribly. They’d hardly spent any time apart since the day Kili was born, though it had always been platonic, Fili was his constant companion and being separated by the marriage was going to be hard on them both. 

The moment was cut short as a surprisingly sober Dwalin arrived, laying his hand on Kili’s shoulder.

‘Come Kili, it is time to go, evening Fili’

With one last squeeze of his brother’s hand, he allowed himself to be steered away. Dwalin’s arm came to rest across his shoulders as they walked. Bowing goodbye to his Uncle they left the halls to the cheering, catcalls and yelled suggestions that made even Kili blush to the top of his ears.

It was a long walk to their chambers but strangely, instead of making the anxiety worse the cool corridors and Dwalin’s strong, steady presence at his side calmed his nerves slightly. After a while, he even found the courage to put his own arm around Dwalin’s waist, gaining a small smile and a tightening of the arm around his shoulder in response. 

He had barely set foot through the door to his chamber before Dwalin started to pull off Kili’s clothes. Shutting the door behind them, he tugged with increasing frustration at the complex ceremonial robes that Kili was wearing. The wedding robes were designed specifically to be difficult to remove as an added torment to the bride & groom.

With Kili’s help he finally managed to find the right tie that when tugged, loosened the whole tunic enough for it to slide of Kili’s shoulders, his undershirt swiftly following. The trousers were the next to be pulled down part way but then, surprisingly, Dwalin stopped and dropped to his knees before the half-naked prince. Fascinated and with a great deal of tenderness he gently placed his hands on the swelling at Kili’s belly. He leant forward and nuzzled against Kili’s stomach lovingly pressing soft kisses against the now rather prominent bump. 

Kili was utterly bewildered by these actions, his hands flailing a little before hesitantly settling on Dwalin’s bald head. This was certainly not what he had expected from the gruff warrior. 

‘Is it safe for us to lay together? I do not wish to harm the babe.’

Kili, put out of sorts by this odd behaviour, did not take the potential reprieve this would grant him.

‘Oin said it should be alright, as long as we are not too... vigorous’

Dwalin stood up from the floor and took Kili in his arms.

‘I know you have been nervous about this, I do not understand why, but I can wait if that is what you wish’

I was the perfect out, the sort of thing he’d been hoping to hear all night and yet it didn’t fill Kili with the relief he thought he would feel. It really wasn’t any different than the last times they had lain together and those had been amazing. Yes, but those times he didn’t own you! Spoke the annoying voice in his head. Though whether he lay with Dwalin now or later wouldn’t change this fact. It would have to happen eventually, Kili was a young dwarf and enjoyed his bed pleasures and wouldn’t last long high and dry. Might as well do it properly he thought. Looking up into the eyes of his new husband, he began to unlace the neck of Dwalin’s tunic.

‘No, my husband, there is no need to wait’

With an unusually bright smile on his face, Dwalin leant down and pressed his lips against Kili’s for their first proper kiss. A kiss was the most intimate thing a dwarf could do to another. Hugs and head buts were common between friends, resting foreheads together was for loved ones but kisses were strictly for married couples and only in private. The sensation of the soft press of another’s lips was a new, but not unpleasant one, especially as the kiss swiftly deepened to a more passionate embrace, their tongues tangling together. Kili’s hands abandoned the laces and wound themselves around Dwalin’s thick neck, pressing himself closer against the bulky muscles of the other dwarf. His head spinning he allowed Dwalin to take control of the kiss, surrendering himself up to the feeling.

He felt the muscles in Dwalin’s shoulders shift as his arms reached down to pick Kili up under his bottom and carry him back to the bed without breaking the kiss, before depositing him on the silken coverlet and divesting him of the remainder of his clothes. Kili watched as Dwalin stripped efficiently, the large corded muscles covered in a thick pelt of hair across his chest and back and a multitude of scars and tattoos. In very little time at all Dwalin stood bare in front of him. 

Impressive was Kili’s first thought. Dwalin was definitely a magnificent specimen of a mature dwarf in his prime. The nature of their couplings before had not really allowed them to get a good look at each other or explore properly, something he planned on remedying as soon as possible. His eyes trailed further down before widening when they reached Dwalin’s dwarfhood. Wow, that’s big. He’d known that it was large, it had after all been inside him before, stretching him out deliciously with just the right amount of pain, but seeing it in clear light for the first time was a bit of a shock. 

Dwalin had apparently decided he’d had enough time to look as he strode forward and joined Kili on the bed. Stalking forward like a lion, he covered Kili’s body with his own before pressing their lips together once more. This time it was more a passionate clash of lips as they both fought for dominance, their hands groping each other’s bodies. Kili broke the kiss, gasping for air as Dwalin trailed his Kili’s neck before licking at his sensitive nipples. Feeling Dwalin’s knee push between his thighs, he spread his legs to allow the older dwarf to slip in-between. Dwalin’s lips explored lower across his chest and stomach before abruptly engulfing Kili’s dwarfhood as he pushed Kili’s thighs further up and apart, bearing him to view. Rearing back, Dwalin fumbled at the bedside table for the bottle of oil he knew to be there kicking the coverlet to the bottom of the bed as he did so.

Finally locating the blasted little bottle he uncorked it with his teeth before liberally covering his fingers and Kili’s hole in oil. Kili felt like he was drowning in sensation as Dwalin’s questing fingers circled his entrance before they pushed into him, stretching him for what was coming, as his mouth returned to Kili’s penis. Dwalin was surprisingly thorough with the preparation, knowing from experience that he could hurt his partner if he wasn’t careful. Cautiously he ensured that Kili was stretched enough to be comfortable before he added the next finger. It was a sore trial of his self control as Kili writhed and panted above him and around his fingers, driving lust through his veins. Once he judged the lad sufficiently prepared he pulled his mouth off Kili, drawing a lovely whine from him as he had been close to orgasm, before lining himself up. 

Mine, Dwalin thought savagely as he slowly pushed inwards, biting into the soft skin of Kili’s inner thigh as he did so. He paused for a brief moment to allow Kili to adjust to the stretch before pulling back and thrusting forward once more. Dwalin leant down, curving his body around the bump, and buried his head into Kili’s neck as he set a punishing pace. Keeping one hand on the bed to support his weight he used the other to pull Kili’s head back and expose his neck, biting at the skin beneath his teeth, marking the lad for all to see. Kili gasped and squirmed underneath him, letting out yelps as his prostate was relentlessly pounded. The amazing sensation built and built before he finally reached completion when Dwalin released his hair and wrapped a meaty paw around his cock and kissed the breath out of him, as Kili squirted up over his stomach.

Gasping, Kili layback on the blanket as his heart rate slowed and he shuddered through the aftershocks. Dwalin thrust forward a few more times above him as the older dwarf reached his own completion with a roar before his weight bore down on Kili as his arms gave out, lying there just a moment to enjoy the residual sensation. 

As he began to come back to himself Kili wondered at what it could be that made sex with Dwalin so amazing. A combination of a big cock and lot of experience no doubt, he thought as he rubbed his cheek against Dwalin’s shoulder, enjoying the intimate press of their bodies together. After a while, however, the heavy weight started making it a bit difficult for Kili to breathe properly. 

‘Dwalin, you’re squashing me’

When he got no response, he prodded him in the ribs with a sharp finger.

‘Move, you great lump’

With a put upon grunt, Dwalin heaved his sleepy body off Kili and rolled them both on to their sides, curling up behind his new spouse and flinging a heavy arm across his waist. 

‘Go to sleep Princess’

Bastard, he thought with a smile, throwing his elbow back into Dwalin’ stomach in retaliation, gaining a gratifying grunt of discomfort from the older dwarf. As he felt Dwalin tug the coverlet up to Kili’s shoulder, he thought, Maybe, just maybe, this wouldn’t be so bad after all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is what I imagine the wedding band to look like:
> 
> http://www.dhgate.com/jewelry-wholesale-tungsten-gold-jewelry-germanium/p-ff8080813a071cb5013a323702414030.html
> 
> except with mithril instead of tungsten of course...


	14. Chapter 14

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rumblings in the deep....

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A chapter a bit early for once! i've got today and tomorrow off so i'm hoping to get at least one more chapter out and possibly an out take done by the end of the weekend.

‘....of course, the drainage of the third underground level of mines would considerably increase the yield of copper...’

By Durin’s beard, council is boring. Kili thought, surreptitiously shifting in his seat. He felt the babe shifting and turning within him as he did so. It was the oddest sensation, even after 3 months of feeling it getting stronger and stronger he still could not get used to it. It had started with a few strange flutterings just before his wedding that he’d chalked down to nerves before the big day. However, when it continued and developed into a more obvious movement within him he’d panicked a little and gone straight to Oin, convinced something was wrong. It had been embarrassing; surely it should have been evident what the feeling was. Luckily the exiles, including Bombur’s wonderful wife Halla and Gloin’s wife Herdis, had turned up and had proved an amazing source of knowledge. Herdis had even given him a very enlightening, if occasionally terrifying, book on the subject of babies. Kili was not a great reader but had read it cover to cover several times over, even if some of the passages made him feel a bit queasy. He was sure there was no need to make the pictures look quite that gruesome. 

The baby turned once more and Kili automatically rubbed his stomach, hoping to sooth it. His Uncle caught the movement out the corner of his eye and sent an enquiring glance his way. Kili retuned his gaze with a reassuring smile until Thorin turned back to the councillor currently waffling away happily.

‘.....in the second level, underground that is. The majority of stone here used to be emeralds but the carat found per pound of ore...’

Nope, still not worth paying attention too. Kili had found it necessary to tune in occasionally to the endless rubbish spouted by the venerable dwarves of his uncle’s council. He’d been caught out a few times by being asked for his opinion when he had no idea what they had been speaking about. Leaning back he shifted again, trying to get comfortable, feeling the braids in his hair squash against the back of the chair. He and Dwalin had fallen into a comfortable routine of having a daily battle over Kili’s hair, Dwalin always insisting he should wear the braids of a married bearer and Kili calling him a hypocrite for refusing to wear his own family’s braids. In the end, they usually came to the same conclusion, Kili had to wear them when he was in council and when Kili had to wear braids, so did Dwalin. Fair’s fair after all. It was fun though, Dwalin was surprisingly adept at coming up with ever more reasons why he should wear them beyond ‘because they mark you as mine and I like it so’ and Kili was getting plenty of practice at using devious methods of distraction to get his own way. 

Most of their battles were just for the fun of testing each other, but occasionally they did have proper fights. Dwalin trying to further restrict Kili’s life triggered most of them and this morning he had gone too far, deliberately ordering a ‘healthy’ breakfast for Kili of the most bland food imaginable that were supposed to be good for his child, completely overriding his wishes. With the physical restrictions, both caused by his body and by his family, and Bifur’s constant presence it had all been too much. No matter what Dwalin decided, if he wanted to eat pickles wrapped in cheese then he would. Something Dwalin had found out to his cost this morning when he’d had a bowl of gruel upended on his head. 

It hadn’t helped that he had already been feeling a bit emotional that morning even before Dwalin’s intervention, having caught a glimpse of himself in the bathroom mirror. He’d been carefully avoiding looking since he got pregnant, not really wanting to see the changes to his body that clearly. This morning, however, Dwalin had moved the robe he normally kept draped across the mirror and he couldn’t help but look. It had been a bit of a shock, to say the least. Intellectually he knew he had quite a big bump but he was not in any way prepared to see what it looked like to anyone else. To him, his body had looked grotesque and swollen. His normally rock hard muscles had completely disappeared, his chest had begun swelling slightly like a women and his hips had begun to spread. This, combined with the knowledge that it was unlikely his beard would grow any longer due to the pregnancy, had set him on edge before the day had even started. 

If the morning was anything to go by, the day was shaping up to be a bad one. 

The elderly dwarf currently holding court had moved onto talking about the first level, underground that is, when the baby seemingly turned upside down inside him. It was certainly being lively today. Perhaps it was finding this council as painfully dull as Kili was. This was the third, and thankfully final, council this week and Kili had to attend all of them. No matter what excuses they spouted about him learning the ways of government in case Fili and Thorin were ever unavailable and contributing to Erebor in his advance state, Kili knew this was a punishment for sneaking out hunting during the early days of his pregnancy. It had his Uncle’s evil sense of humour written all over it. 

In an effort to prevent his eyes from glazing over entirely, he cast them about the room in search of something vaguely less boring to look at, eventually catching sight of Bifur. He was standing to attention against the wall near the door with his long boar spear in hand. Internally Kili scowled at the sight, though he was careful not to let it show on his face. Bifur had taken to following him around constantly, seemingly determined to protect him from every non-existent threat in the half-empty mountain. He knew it was meant as an honour that the elder dwarf felt he was worthy of such close protection but it was an unbelievable intrusion on Kili’s privacy. It was incredibly annoying but when he’d tried to politely send Bifur on his way he’d been completely ignored. At least he had almost figured out what Bifur had meant by ‘Not Dead Protect’. Raising the matter with Thorin hadn’t gotten him anywhere. All there had been was an odd shared look between Thorin and his brother and a command to let Bifur do as he wished. An appeal to Dwalin’s possessive side hadn’t worked any better, if anything he had seemed approving of the dedication shown to his safety. Even Nori hadn’t been any help when he’d tried to get some methods of evading a tail from the secretive dwarf. The over-protectiveness of his family was getting worse and worse and it was driving him insane. Kili swore blind they had all gone completely mad. That, and he had a sneaking suspicion they were keeping something from him. 

A rather painful kick to his ankle pulled his focus back to the council. His Uncle was sending his ‘Pay Attention!’ glare at him. Perhaps he ought to try to concentrate for a little while. 

‘...if we increase the focus on harvesting diamond in the west side of the mountain we may improve the profitability of the mines in their half open state, taking into account the effect of the heavy minerals on the current equipment. Of course, if we could open further shafts in the Iron areas...’

Mahal almighty this was dull. Kili was just considering doing something drastic to relieve the relentless tedium when he felt a sharp thump inside his stomach. Shocked he abruptly sat up straight, hand flying to the spot on his stomach where the sensation originated.

It happened again.

It was a kick. The very first kick from his baby. 

‘Kili, what is wrong?’ came his Uncle’s alarmed voice as his hands gripped Kili on his shoulders. 

Completely ignoring the worried looks of the assembled councillors, he scrabbled for his Uncle’s hand, pressing it down on his stomach.

‘Feel’

‘Feel what Kili? Are you alright? ...oh’

Just as his Uncle had been speaking, the baby kicked out again strongly. Kili felt ridiculously happy and rather proud of himself as his Uncle’s amazed gaze met his. 

‘Isn’t it wonderful? I have to show Dwalin’

With that, he was up and out of the council chamber without a second thought, his faithful shadow trailing behind, leaving the startled councillors and his smiling Uncle in his wake. 

Thorin shook his head wryly as his nephew disappeared from view. Balin met his gaze with a smirk across the table. Damnation, he thought, the bet. Across the table he could see plenty of gold being passed about as wagers were settled, the few winners (mainly Balin) smugly counting their winnings. Blasted boy, all he had to do was make it to the end of this council meeting and Thorin would have won. He could cry foul as it was obvious some of the other dwarves had been deliberately lengthening their already dull speeches in an attempt to make Kili crack and do a runner but he was an honourable dwarf and settled his debt with only a little grumbling. He had to admit Kili had done well to pay attention for as long as he had given his young age and advancing condition, especially with the nefarious actions of the older council members. 

As the council settled back down again, Lord Egil picked up where he left off. 

‘As I was saying, on the south side of the mountain there are still large deposits of tanzanite which could be accessed easily...’

Dull, thought Thorin, and not something to which he had to pay particular attention. Balin would deal with the immediate queries and he would make any larger decisions once he’d been able to see the mine schematics for himself. Keeping a suitably serious look on his face (something Kili was not very good at) he allowed his mind to wander on to more pressing matters. 

The latest report he’d received from Nori was setting him on edge. The ex-thief had been a revelation. Thorin had been very dubious of allowing him to come along with the quest in the first place. Was it really wise to allow a dwarf of such uncertain morals to join a company who would need to rely on his loyalty for their safety and to gain such wealth and influence if they succeeded? Balin had swayed his mind in the end. The need for any support, no matter what form it came in, had overridden any doubts. 

However, since arriving at Erebor Nori had really started to prove himself worthy. First by alerting them to the danger posed by Dain and now with this new information. Nori was sure there was something brewing. Whispers floated through the tunnels that maybe some of the dwarves from the Iron Hills who had stayed, and some of those exiles who had recently arrived might not be all they seemed. There was no question that Dain was plotting something. His words to Thorin at the coronation and information from Nori’s spies had confirmed that whatever it is, Dain instigated it. Pinning down exactly what the plan is, was proving a lot more difficult. All they knew was that it came from Dain and possibly concerned Kili, but there was nothing they could really do until they found out more. Even Nori was getting frustrated at the lack of progress. 

Leaning back against his chair, Thorin contemplated the protection around his nephew. The physical restrictions, as much as Kili chaffed at them, helped to ensure he was always somewhere within reach of help and Bifur’s self-imposed guard duty helped matters immensely. Thorin wasn’t really sure what motivated Bifur to do what he was doing but was thankful for it anyway. For all the problems caused by the axe wound he could certainly be trusted to defend Kili at all costs.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As an accountant by trade I couldn't help but crunch the numbers. I've got a very high hit count for the numbers of chapters but my hit:kudos and especially hit:comment ratio are way down ::sadface:: Hopefully people are still enjoying what i'm doing and much love to the wonderful people who are reviewing!
> 
> Don't worry this is no blackmail situation! I have every intention of finishing this story at the current pace. I'm writing it for myself as much as anyone else and thorughouly enjoying it! but it would be nice you know!
> 
> Much Love! ILMM


	15. Bifur Interlude

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this is not as much as I was hoping to get done today but it turned out to be one of those days when you realise you've done something monumentally stupid and then spend the rest of the time trying desperatly to make up for it. 
> 
> Hopefully there will still be some more on Sunday.

Bifur understood more than other Dwarves tended to believe. In fact, he was often of the opinion that he understood far more than they did. He was Not Dead, whereas they were Still Living and only those who saw Death truly understood Life. 

Not that he wasn’t aware that there was something a bit wrong with him. The New Words had abandoned him, chased out by the Evidence of His Failure. Thoughts slipped through his mind like diamond dust through his fingers and on occasion he became Lost. Being Lost hurt more than anything. Sometimes Freya appeared before him with little Ulf, his beloved little son, happy and smiling as they always used to. Other times it was much worse, The Moment He Failed played over and over again, always the same. On the mountainside away from Home, his lovely Freya running towards him with Ulf in her arms, Monsters chasing behind. To his eternal shame, Bifur didn’t reach them in time, the Monsters got there first. He had slaughtered them all before he’d picked his family up in his arms, blood pouring down his clothes, and desperately ran and ran and ran as fast as he could for help. Then there had been Pain and Darkness and he knew no more.

He had woken from Death in a hovel that smelled of Sickness and Blood. He had known the minute he awoke that he was Not Dead that his family were Gone. They were Dead and he was Not Dead, but he was also not Living. For how could he Live without them? They had been his family, his to cherish and protect and he had Failed. Mahal had rejected his soul and condemned him to be Not Dead in punishment for his Sin.

He Existed from that day in Ered Luin with his Cousin Who Smiled and his Fat Brother, who had cared from him even though he Failed and Mahal rejected him, spending his days carving toys for the Not Ulfs. Horrible toys of the Monsters that took his Home and killed his family but the Not Ulfs seemed to like them anyway. He had followed his Cousin Who Smiled and The Fat One wherever they went, for they were also family that he must protect. They were also the only ones who seemed to understand him when he was having a Difficult Day, when no matter how fast he ran he could not save them.

He knew not why they had decided to go to the Not Burglar’s odd little house but the party had been good. They had been joined by many others who he knew when he was Living, like Not Really Deaf, Red Warrior and Big Dwarf and some he knew not, like The Fussy One and his brothers The Thief and The Artist before setting out for Home the next morning. They had been joined by the King Who had No Mountain, who was almost as Not Dead as he was, and his two younglings and Big Stick.

The youngling were endlessly fascinating, for they were not only Still Living but actually Alive. The Golden Lion and the One Who was Not Freya, no matter how much he resembled her, glowed with Life beyond anything he’d seen since he was Not Dead. 

They had been kind to him, even though he was Not Dead. The One Who was Not Freya had even permitted him to try to forget with him on occasion. He looked so much like Freya that it was almost possible to be Dead with her, if only for a little while. 

He fought with the fury of a hundred dwarves on the journey and in the battle for Home. He felt no fear; Mahal had rejected him so he could not Die. He remained Not Dead so he could save those Still Living and especially those who were Alive. So he fought for the King Who now had a Mountain, even though he was mad, so those who were Still Living could have their Home.

The journey had seemed a rather odd exercise before he’d finally realised that they were heading Home. Before this, he had been along for the ride, hoping to return the axe in his head to its rightful owner, along with returning the favour. Home brought up all sorts of bad memories. He got Lost often on the quest, especially when Monsters attacked. Annoyingly none of the Monsters they came across was the one he was looking for. Not even the big red fire breathing one.

It had been such a pity that the King Who Had a Mountain had gone mad. At one point he seemed determined that they would all become Dead. It was not something Bifur particularly objected too. I was as good a way as any to honourably join his family but it did seem a shame that those Alive were going to become Dead. They were so young and full of life. 

Luckily the fates intervened and preserved them. The One Who Was Not Freya had been blessed. Mahal had shown his favour to the Alive. However, he could have told the lad that he was not the father before he pulled him aside when they were Home. After all, the lad was Not Freya and the child Not Ulf, so it could not be. He would still protect them, whatever the cost, for the Bearer bore Life and Almost Looked Like Freya. 

He would protect them and hopefully it would be the last thing he did. Mahal may forgive him his trespasses if he succeeds and then he could be Dead with his family. 

Even if he was not forgiven and did not become Dead he would still protect the Bearer to the End of his Days and craft toys for the Not Ulf. Nice toys, not Monster Toys, so the Not Ulf could play happily as all Not Ulfs should. Then maybe the Bearer would smile him that smile that made him Almost Look Like Freya’s and he could be happy, if only for a short while. 

Standing outside of the bedroom of the Bearer, Bifur stood proud and clutched his spear to his chest, eyes constantly scanning the hallway for threats, determined to save him from harm. He had failed once before. He would not do so again.


	16. Chapter 16

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Oddly enough this is actually the first chapter I wrote for this story. Odd how your brain works isn't it?

There were far too many staircases in Erebor. Kili was beginning to suspect the designers of old had a fetish for them and he was wishing them a fiery and painful time in the special hell reserved specifically for the makers of such implements of torture. To get from any place to another in this blasted mountain you invariably either had to go up, down or even around a set of stairs. Some of which appeared to be there only for the sake of being there. 

Normally this would be no trouble for Kili. He was young and fit. In fact, his mother used to set him to running up and down the stairs in Ered Luin for hours to burn of his excess energy before bed as it was often the only way to get him tired enough to sleep. Many a happy afternoon happily spent with Fili, racing each other to the top and figuring out new techniques to slide down the banister ever faster. There had been a few bruises, sprains and broken limbs but Dwarflets were strong creatures and usually bounced off the floor with very little trouble.

However, at nine months pregnant, the heavy belly protruding in front of him had turned staircases from something fun into The Work of Sauron. The weight of his stomach was making his back and knees ache, throwing off his balance and blocking his view of his feet. All of which made for a particularly difficult time in getting around in general let alone navigating the whims of some ancient Dwarves who had far too much time on their hands and a pickaxe.

His back ached fiercely and his thighs were burning from all the climbing. Kili was stronger than your average dwarven women but all those strong bones and thick muscles made Dwarf babies especially heavy. The weight pulled constantly at his lower back standing up and made it impossible for him to get comfortable sitting down. He also needed to pee....again.

The baby pressed almost permanently on his bladder making constant trips to the loo a major feature of his life. Of course, the toilets were usually close to Ground Level so the waste was easier to get rid of and the nearest one was still another flight away.

He just wanted to sit down and cry.

The problem being that if he did sit down he would eventually have to get up again, which was also not an easy task in his condition. In fact, there was a distinct possibility that he be stuck sitting there until someone came along who could help lever him upright. That and the embarrassment he would feel if anyone caught him having a temper tantrum like a five year old made him carry on going. For the first time he wanted Bifur here to help him but the older dwarf had left him for his own supper when Kili had reached the higher levels out of harms way.

It made Kili wonder why he was bothering to climb all these stairs at all. Kili had spent the day in the supervising the receipt of the latest load of food from the Dale farms at Ground Level and he was tired and achy. Nevertheless, it was Friday evening so one-way or another he had to get to the top. 

After the Dragon Sickness had left him, Thorin clung ever closer to his remaining family to prevent it from ever happening again. He liked to have ‘family time’ every Friday evening, where they gathered in his sitting room for time together where they could talk freely and could leave all thought of duties outside for a while. It was a really nice development, like they’d got back an even better version of their old loving and warm Uncle Thorin they remembered from their childhood, before the battle of Azanulbizar had turned him colder and more withdrawn. Kili loved it and wouldn’t miss it for the world. 

The only issue was that Thorin had chosen to live in the old Kings Quarters, which naturally were at the very top of the hollowed out part of the mountain. Which meant stairs. Lots and lots of stairs.

Sighing, he put his head down and ploughed onwards.

Maybe he should have just gone to bed and had a lie down. Still, it wasn’t like his bedroom was that much closer. As a Prince of the Line of Durin he had the dubious ‘privilege’ of having his (and Dwalin’s) quarters on the second highest level. They were lovely big rooms, finely furnished and comfortable. He could have fit their old home in Ered Luin in them at least four times. Back home had shared one small bedroom with Fili, who for all his vanity in his appearance was a very untidy dwarf, and now he had his own room AND sitting room. His new rooms (plural!) were next door to Fili and just below his Uncle’s rooms. 

They even had their own private staircases.

They were unfortunately also a very, very long way away from everywhere else. Fili liked to joke that they’d put the royal family’s home high up in the mountain to make sure they stayed fit for battle by having to trek so far so often. 

‘Stops us from getting fat and useless like the old Mayor of Laketown’, he’d say cheerfully bounding up the steps two at a time. 

Kili usually punched him if he said that while in range but Fili had learned quickly to make sure he was out of arms reach. It was not as if Kili could catch him and pummel him into the floor like he used to anymore. At first he’d used it to his advantage, prodding Kili into a rage and then zooming off before Kili could get going. Slow and unbalanced, with a turning circle of a long heavily laden wagon there was not much Kili could do when Fili was in the mood to bother him. Even Bombur could out-run him now and he’d almost doubled in weight since they’d arrived at Erebor. At one point Bifur had taken umbrage at one of the particularly bad jokes and had brought the handle of his spear down on Fili’s foot hard in retribution. Fili hadn’t made the same mistake again and, seeing how much it really bothered Kili, had toned it down since. Kili smiled at the memory, Bifur following him around did have its uses. 

Deciding to take a breather, Kili stopped at the next landing and leant against the wall. 

Times like this made Kili wish he were Human. They had light babies and only bore them for nine months while Kili had another three months of this torment left to go. The stupid hormones were making him so emotional. He never used to cry before this came along but now the littlest thing could get him close to bawling, especially if it was something small and cute. 

It was not like his temper had got any better either. He’d always been known for being hot tempered but recently it felt like he was going to blow if something annoyed him. In the fifth month of his pregnancy Thorin’s eminently sensible suggestion that maybe he ought to stop trying to hunt and put his bow away for a bit had triggered an explosion of anger of such proportions that sent even Thorin scurrying for cover. The incident was still talked about today among the common folk with an aura of hushed reverence. 

He’d apologised later of course. Thorin had taken it rather well but it’d had still been very embarrassing. 

Nowadays, he took most of his temper out on Dwalin. As the cause of all this discomfort, he was a very convenient target. He had been surprisingly patient with Kili’s mood swings, so happy at having the child he’d always wanted he was willing to put up with just about anything as long as Kili was happy. 

Thoughts of his husband were all the incentive Kili needed to continue up the stairs. Dwalin had been away for a few weeks guarding Balin on his trip as emissary to the Iron Hills and was back today. Kili had been so involved in the food supplies he hadn’t been able to great him when he arrived and was really looking forward to seeing him again. Assuming he was hale and well he would be joining them this evening in Thorin’s rooms and Kili couldn’t wait. Not only was it lovely to have him round to deal with Kili’s temper, tease him into a good mood and help him up stairs, but also for the fun they had in the bedroom. After being reassured that it wouldn’t harm the baby Dwalin had been a more than willing participant. No-one had told him pregnancy would make him hornier then usual and Dwalin... well Kili had always had that crush on Dwalin.

It had been over two weeks after all. It was a long time to wait. 

As if his thoughts had summoned him, Kili heard Dwalin’s booming laugh echo down from in front of him. Looking up, he could see the open doorway to Thorin’s rooms. Apparently, he’d travelled a lot further then he thought during his musings and was almost there. 

With a last spurt of energy he reached finally reached the top. Triumph! The battle of Kili vs. The Stairs had been won.


	17. Chapter 17

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Warning! Smut and fluff in this chapter!
> 
> I'm not entirly pleased with this one but no matter how much I fiddled with it, it wasn't improving. So hope you lot dont mind

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> On another note, I can't quite believe i've managed 30k words. Especially when i've never really written anything longer then about 5k before... Go me!

Preceded by his belly, Kili waddled into the room before flopping onto his favourite chair with a groan of relief. 

‘Ugh... I want this baby out of me!’

The statement drew a laugh from the rest of his family, Kili being the last to arrive. Fili smiled at his brother as he entered before refocusing on the game in front of him. Stripped of his normal finery, he was playing backgammon with Balin with a set of elaborate golden counters. It was strange, even to one who loved luxury as much as Fili did, that almost everything they touched now was precious in one form or another. The huge change from the simplicity of their lives in Ered Luin had been surprisingly uncomfortable for the young prince. The onerous duties that came with his new power, the worries over Dain and the separation from Kili had made for a rather stressful few months. Thankfully, the new duties started getting easier the longer he did them, even if some of them were still rather dull, but waiting for Dain’s trap to be sprung or for Nori to find out something useful was agonising. He just hoped to Mahal that whatever it was did not involve Kili as they suspected.

Fili transferred his gaze back to his brother, who was talking quietly with Dwalin after their surprisingly tender reunion. Or perhaps not so surprising really. It was obvious to anyone with eyes in their head, except the parties involved, that the two loved each other. Dwalin, he suspected was aware of the depth of his own feelings yet failed to see that Kili reciprocated them. Kili, on the other hand was still utterly oblivious to the fact that his crush had turned into love let alone realise that Dwalin adored him. Idiots the pair of them, he thought, shaking his golden mane as he turned back to his game.

At least Kili had a happy marriage, even if it did have the occasional hiccup (the sight of Dwalin with a bowl of gruel on his head had been just precious). It was all he had ever wanted for his brother. Kili was such an effervescent and cheerful dwarf that it is unbearable for any that love him to see him unhappy and Fili had worked hard all of his life to make sure that nothing ever upset him. Not that Kili ever realised this, he only saw his older brother as one who was always up for some fun and took the worse of their mother wrath. It was his role as older brother to defend his brother from harm. It was a duty that he had always taken very seriously, despite appearances to the contrary, and for the most part, he had succeeded. However, it was now Dwalin’s job, not his, to ensure Kili’s continued happiness. Try as he might to keep the facade that nothing had changed the fact remained that the marriage had stolen his brother away from him. Kili’s new responsibilities, both to his husband and to Erebor, combined with Fili’s burdensome duties left them very little time together at all, let alone for the sort of mischief they used to get up to. He missed Kili so much it was like having a limb amputated. He was so used to always having Kili beside him, to share the load and confide in, that the space left behind now felt empty. It was lonely without his shadow.

‘Difficult to let go isn’t it?’

He looked up and met Balin’s sympathetic gaze.

‘It’s hard when you realise they no longer depend on you as they once did. That they’ve grown up and moved on and your relationship is changed irretrievably. It can be a good thing though. The new friendship that you gain, if you work on it of course, is just as deep as the old one and the bond you have will never fade. However you must remember, my lad, that no matter how big and ugly they get he will always be your younger brother and will always need protecting.’ 

Fili looked at the small, wise old dwarf sitting opposite. It was easy to forget that he was Dwalin’s older brother, unassuming as he was. Dwalin being such a ferocious dwarf that you couldn’t really imagine him in the role of little brother. It was quite an amusing picture. Fili knew that beneath the affable exterior, Balin was as strong as dwarves come, something he must have developed growing up with the mini terror that Dwalin must have been as a child. Feeling a new kinship with the elder dwarf, he smiled back and made his next move on the board. 

So much had changed since they’d left the only home they’d ever known almost 2 years ago, not least the transformation of his Uncle. Admittedly he was still the majestic leader he’d always been and was as quick tempered as ever but he smiled far more, even laughed occasionally, and was far less grumpy. The change was mostly due to getting his beloved home back but was in part caused by a small, oddly shaped creature with furry feet. Fili thoroughly approved of his Uncle’s relationship with Bilbo, even if he didn’t see the attraction himself, as the remarkable little hobbit fit perfectly with Thorin. He was giving enough to put up with Thorin’s occasional stupidity yet strong enough, and stubborn enough, to put an end to said stupidity before it got out of hand. Though they were complete opposites in so many ways they seemed to match perfectly. Once Thorin had let go of his stubborn pride of course. As if summoned by his thoughts, Fili heard his Uncle’s rare soft laughter drift over the company.

His Uncle was sitting behind Bilbo, attempting to braid the short curly locks while Bilbo was roasting toast over the fire. The council had insisted on a traditional one year courtship before the marriage and Thorin had reluctantly agreed. It was obviously frustrating for both of them to have to wait but surprisingly Bilbo was the one trying to push faster and seemed most impatient. He was often seen dragging the not exactly reluctant king into quiet corners and hidden nooks. Fili really did not want to know what they got up to; even the thought of his Uncle having conjugal relations was enough to make him shudder. 

‘What do you mean you’re going away again? You can’t go! You just got back!’

In a moment their peace was shattered. Dwalin must have broken the news about the northern border to Kili. Even though most of the orcs and goblins had been slaughtered in the battle some still remained and were causing trouble on the north of the border between Erebor and the Iron Hills. Dain claimed he didn’t have the strength to deal with them on his own and it was planting season for men, something they could not interrupt if the food supply was to continue, so Thorin had agreed to send some of his forces, such as they were, to help. Which was why Dwalin and Fili were to head northwards in two weeks time. 

‘Uncle! Surely you can’t send Dwalin. Can’t Dain manage a few orcs by himself?’

Sighing and releasing Bilbo from his arms, Thorin braced himself for the battle ahead. 

‘Kili, I know you don’t like it but we need to improve relations with our cousins in the Iron Hills. If this means we have to send Dwalin and Fili to knock a few orcish heads together than that is what must be done. It shouldn’t be too dangerous, there are not many left’

‘You’re sending Fili too??’

Fili winced at his brothers horrified tone. Letting that slip had been a mistake by his Uncle. He had been hoping to let the main fuss die down before he revealed to Kili that he was also going. Luckily, Bilbo, ever the peace keeper chose to intervene before things got out of hand. Walking across the room he offered Kili a plate of toast covered in butter and jam with a smile.

‘Now then Kili, it won’t be for a long, they’ll be back in plenty of time for your delivery and you have all of the rest of company to help you out and i’m sure they’ll both be fine, they are strong warriors’

Fili had to admire the hobbit for the clever trick he had just pulled. Kili couldn’t object more without looking ungrateful for the help provided by the others or denying that Dwalin and Fili were capable fighters and realising this Kili backed down sullenly. Everyone breathed a sigh of relief as the potential storm subsided.

Pouting, Kili plonked the offered plate of toast down on the shelf conveniently created by his belly, thanking Bilbo with as much grace as he could muster, before petulantly stuffing a piece into his mouth. He really didn’t see why it had to be Dwalin that was sent away but to take his brother as well was too much. Stupid Dain and his stupid demands, he had managed to hold out against twice this number of orcs before they reclaimed Erebor, Kili couldn’t understand why it was such a hardship now, when he needed his family most.

Xxxx

Kili floated in the warm water closing his eyes and groaning in pleasure as the muscles in his lower back finally loosened. He was currently sitting astride Dwalin’s lap, his forearms resting on the ledge, in their big deep bath tub that was cut into the wall of their bedroom as his husband rubbed the cramp from his spine, pressing kisses to his shoulders and hair as he did so. 

Bliss

He had known since he was a child that there was more to Dwalin then the terrifying warrior he liked to portray but he hadn’t really known that the gruff old soldier was such a softie. Honestly, his tenderness and care towards Kili and his unborn child had shown that he really had a core of cotton fluff, however much he tried to deny it. 

Don’t get him wrong, Dwalin was a force of nature on the battlefield, absolutely implacable when he’d set his mind that Kili was not permitted to do something and sex still felt like Kili had been hit by a hurricane. However, as soon as Kili whined that something was hurting or that he was tired he turned into the most considerate dwarf in existence. 

Kili smiled into his arms. There was a temptation to abuse this new knowledge about his partner but he’d decided to only use it when necessary. Dwalin was still an intimidating dwarf who wouldn’t take well to being exploited in such a manner and Kili wanted to keep his backrubs, thank you very much. Deciding to thank his husband properly he turned around so he was facing Dwalin and presented him with his best pout and puppy dog eye combination.

‘Kiss’ he demanded.

Smiling, Dwalin leant forward and complied. The size of Kili’s almost ten-month pregnant belly held them apart a bit as their mouths came together. However, it didn’t stop Dwalin’s hands from running down Kili’s back to cup his backside, one finger questing inwards to rub against his hole. Smiling Kili pulled back, preparing to leave the tub and return to bed for some fun when Dwalin’s arms locked tight, holding him in place. 

‘No, stay here’

‘In the tub??’

‘Yes, in the tub’ 

A wicked glint lit up Dwalin’s smile as he met Kili’s shocked eyes before his hands tightened on Kili’s hips and spun him around so he was once again facing the ledge his bum slightly raised out of the water. Rummaging among the bath oils Dwalin found the waterproof lubrication he wanted as Kili secured his footing, the water helped to support his heavy stomach making it a surprisingly comfortable position. Dribbling the oil over his fingers and over the top of Kili’s buttocks, he teasingly circled his finger around the ring of muscles that were still a little slack from their earlier activities. Dwalin was leaving for the meeting with Dain tomorrow, so they were making the best of the time they had left together, which meant lots and lots of sex. 

Kili whined and pressed back seeking a firmer contact and Dwalin obliged, pushing one finger in up to the knuckle. 

‘Hmmm I think I like you like this my pet, still loose around my fingers, sucking me in so easily. I ought to fuck you more often so you stay open and ready for me’ He said, adding another finger as he spoke, stretching Kili open in preparation. 

‘I’ve no objections to that’ Kili responded breathlessly as a third finger entered the quick stretch making his muscles burn pleasantly. 

‘You take three so easily, do you think you could fit a fourth?’ Need deepened Dwalin’s voice as he watched his large fingers spread Kili open.

Twisting around to look Dwalin in the eye, he saw the lust burning brightly. The thought was an appealing one and Kili’s cock throbbed against his stomach, despite a hint of worry about the possible pain that was swiftly dismissed. 

‘I can try’ was all he needed to say, turning back to face the ledge.

He felt Dwalin’s little finger brush against his rim before pushing in alongside it’s brethren. 

‘Oh OH .... Mahal!’

The burn was much more intense this time but the increased depth also allowed Dwalin’s fingers to brush firmly on his prostate. Caught between the dual sensations he rocked back and forth against the fingers mindlessly, scrabbling at the edge of the tub. Dwalin’s hand wrapped around his leaking cock and it only took a few strokes and one deep push from the hand before he was ejaculating into the water. 

The fingers were hurriedly, but gently withdrawn as Dwalin quickly slicked up his own cock before pushing in desperately, the slackened muscles easily opening around him. Grasping Kili’s hips firmly he fucked him hard, coming with a roar into his husband after only a few minutes, water sloshing around his hips. 

With wobbly legs, he pulled out and sat back down in the tub, drawing Kili to lie cradled against his chest as their breathing returned to normal.

‘We should do that more often’ 

‘Definitely’ he agreed.

Swishing his finger in the now dirty bath water, Kili remarked, ‘I think we may need another bath though’

Chuckling together, the pair cleaned up as best they could before exiting the bath tub, Dwalin making sure Kili did not slip on the spilt water before drawing him back under his arm as they wandered towards the bedroom. Kissing his spouse on the temple he murmured into his hair,

‘Are you wanting to go to bed?’

Kili smiled, leaning in to rest his head against the brawny shoulder. 

‘Not just yet’

Wrapping both of them up in their towels, Dwalin steered them across the room to the fireplace so they could dry off in the warmth. Tugging Kili to sit down in front of him, he picked up a comb and began working on the knots in the wild hair. 

Despite the occasional painful tug to his hair, Kili began to drift off. Leaning against Dwalin’s chest, wrapped in soft towels and near the blazing fire he was warm and comfortable. This being married thing wasn’t so bad, he contemplated, as his thoughts pondered slowly through his head. After an initial difficult adjustment period, where Kili had to get used to having more responsibility then he was used to and Dwalin had to learn to let go of a little control, they had settled into a comfortable rhythm. His increasing girth and all the difficulties that came with it, had made him ever more reliant on his husband to help him out, something that had worn sorely on his independence at first. Gradually he had become accustomed to it and had even come to enjoy some of the perks, like those wonderful backrubs of which Dwalin was capable. Make no mistake, as soon as this baby was out of him, Kili had every intention of going down to the training grounds and getting back in shape as soon as possible, but in the mean time he meant to take pleasure in the support as much as possible. Apart from a few notable mistakes (The Breakfast Issue as an example) where Dwalin’s concern overrode his intelligence, Dwalin had proved to be a good husband, even if it was only because Kili bore his child. He was kind and considerate, when he wasn’t being overbearing of course, and hearing him talk to the baby when he thought Kili was asleep was endlessly endearing. He never thought that Dwalin’s presence would become so important to him, but he really didn’t want him to leave tomorrow to fight the Orcs on the western boarders. It was too close to his time and Kili needed him too much.

Distantly, he felt himself being picked up and carried across the room. A part of his wanted to protest at being treated like a child and that he could perfectly well walk on his own but the larger, more sensible part of his mind shut him up. It was warm and he was sleepy. Protesting and walking would require far too much effort. A mattress rose to meet him and a soft pillow met his head as he snuggled into the warm blankets. On the edge of sleep, he felt a gentle kiss on his forehead and a murmur from above.

‘Menu zirup men’

The Khudzul phrase took a moment to wander lazily through his mind looking for a meaning but when it finally was translated, Kili was awake in an instant. He couldn’t believe his ears. It must have been a mistake, he’d been sleepy and not really paying attention. After all, there was no way that Dwalin had just used the traditional term of endearment reserved solely for your One. 

His spouse’s lucid state hadn’t registered with the older dwarf as he happily settled into bed, curled up against Kili’s back slinging an arm of his stomach. In a haze of contentment, Dwalin dropped off to sleep almost instantly, snoring sonorously against Kili’s ear. 

Rest was definitely not on the cards for Kili. His stunned mind whirling and his heart pounded, as he struggled to rationalise this new piece of information. It simply wasn’t possible. Dwalin was looking after him for the child. It couldn’t be anything more than an old fondness for his friend’s nephew and the fact that he was fundamentally a good dwarf that made him treat Kili so well. He couldn’t feel so deeply for Kili, he just couldn’t. Kili hadn’t done anything to earn such precious regard and didn’t reciprocate it. Not that he wasn’t fond of the older dwarf or that he didn’t respect him, but only that Kili didn’t think Dwalin was his One. Now he knew Dwalin thought of him that way he couldn’t just continue on acting as usual and pretending he didn’t know. Or could he? What did it really change except that Kili now felt rather a lot more awkward about Dwalin’s tender care. Was it taking advantage to continue to enjoy his care while he didn’t return his feelings? And what about when the baby was finally born..

What in Mahal’s name was he going to do?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Action will start to pick up again in the next chapter. I think after this there is three, maybe four chapters left before it's finished. Can't believe i've managed to get this far!
> 
> The Khuzdul supposedly translates as 'You complete me' according to the onine dwarvish dictionary I found. I'm not sure of it's reliability to feel free to correct me if it's wrong.


	18. Chapter 18

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A bit of action (finally)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry about the delay on this chapter peeps. My muse apparently doesn't work when i've got money trouble (i'd never be able to do the starving writer thing) but it was pay day to day and inspiration has finally struck, at the most inconvienent time when i'm really supposed to be at work.....

Less than one month left. That’s all he had left before the baby was born and his life was changed irrevocably. Not that it hadn’t changed immensely already. Still, being responsible for a life was a huge step especially as he was only 8 years past his own majority. Even though he’d been on a quest, fought in numerous battles, he still felt like a child himself. How he was going to raise a child properly when he could barely manage himself he did not know.

Thank Mahal for Dwalin. Dwalin was good with children, he would know what to do. He had the help of his Uncle and Herdis and Halla as well. It would be alright, he was sure.

He just had to keep telling himself that. 

Lying on his side on their bed, Kili tried to get comfortable. He wasn’t sleeping well at the moment what with the constant trips to the loo and the large bump getting in the way.

Kili was now very heavily pregnant. He was pretty much confined to the upper floors now as the stairs were becoming too much. He tried to keep helping out but there was not much he could do at the moment given the physical restrictions he was under. The lack of activity was driving him insane and giving him far too much time to think.

Yet with all this time he had still not come to a decision on what to do about Dwalin. The quiet whisper in the night had shaken his world and knocked him out of his comfort zone as far as his husband was concerned. Poor Dwalin had been so confused with the frosty leave-taking he had before setting off for the northern borders. He’d been trying to act normally but his confusion had come through and he’d struggled to treat Dwalin with his customary friendliness and cheer. Hopefully Dwalin would have chalked it up to pregnancy mood swings or being unhappy at his leaving rather than Kili being mean. He felt so bad about not sending him off properly considering how kind he’d been. He’d be back in a week though and Kili could try to make amends and after that...

After that....

Maybe the baby would be enough to distract them from having to think about it. Dwalin hadn’t given any indication of his feelings before his slip that night. It wasn’t likely he’d push for any reciprocation from Kili that he wasn’t offering freely. Not that Kili did reciprocate at all, or at least didn’t think that Dwalin was his One. He was fond of the older dwarf, very fond if he was honest. It was akin to love, but not quite the depth he would expect for Dwalin to be his one. Dwalin had been so good to him and the warmer side to him that he’d seen recently was absolutely wonderful that it was unsurprising that Kili’s crush had deepened into something like love. Maybe it was love, he didn’t know how you told whether it was love or a crush. All he knew was that he was happier when Dwalin was around. Perhaps they could just carry on as they had been, apart from the odd awkwardness of one partner feeling more then another, nothing need change. Kili just needed to get better at acting like he didn’t know, even if there was a part of him that was uncomfortable with not being honest with Dwalin. 

Shifting on the bed, he tried once more to get comfortable. Lying on his back was definitely out of contention and the other side was just as uncomfortable as this one. Sighing he felt the dark pall of utter and complete boredom fall upon him. Restlessness crawled up his spine and made his feet twitch. He had to get out of this room before he went crazy but Bifur wasn’t back yet and he wasn’t supposed to go out without him. 

Huffing a sigh and feeling rebellious, he heaved himself to his feet. Screw waiting around for Bifur’s headache to go away, he was going out of his room whether they liked it or not. He was perfectly capable of defending himself. 

Slipping a few knifes into his sleeves and one into the belt low around his hips, he left the room in search of some entertainment. Surely, Bofur would be willing to share a few stories, which would be amusing and not too strenuous for him. 

Clinging to the banister, he made his way down the staircases and along the corridors to the workshops he knew Bofur was likely to be. As he went down the now more populated corridors the endless bowing from the people as they went past started to become a little annoying. Even more annoying was the fact they all seemed to expect him to stop and talk about the baby, always asking exactly the same questions a hundred times. Seriously, he should get them all in the great hall, tell them everything there was to know about him and the baby and be done with it. 

Detaching himself as politely as possible from the latest bunch of well wishers, he spied a back passage that would be a short cut to Bofur that was less likely to be used. Perfect! No-one was using these passages as they weren’t lit yet due to the shortage of torches and luminescent moss, so there would be no one to bother him. He could make his way in peace.

The darkened corridors felt a bit spooky as he walked along but they served their purpose. He’d only passed one rather shifty looking dwarf who had done nothing more than eye him up a bit, nod, and then carry on past. The gloom was oppressive and reminded him somewhat of Thranduil’s dungeons. Odd noises had him nervous and sometimes it felt like he was being watched. Pressing onwards a little faster he carried on towards his destination. A muffled thump from behind him had spinning around in alarm but there was nothing there.

His heart felt a little shaky as he continued on towards Bofur’s workroom. Thorin’s constant worrying must be starting to get to him too if he was starting to imagine things. All of the company were getting twitchy and tension was rising, especially as Nori hadn’t been seen in a few days, and their fretfulness was starting to affect Kili too. Even now it was almost as if he could hear soft foot steps behind him, yet when he turned back, once again the corridor was empty.

Getting Paranoid Kili. Shaking his head at his own silliness, he carried on. He could see the final staircase down to the main thoroughfare in the Toymakers Guild. Yet as he sped up towards the light the footsteps behind him grew louder. A shadow glanced past his left hand side. Thankfully, his fighting instinct was still intact and he automatically ducked the hammer that came flying at his head. Somewhat unbalanced by this sudden change in direction, the knife he swung at his attacker went wide and glanced off the dwarfs arm rather than going into his heart at planned. 

Unfortunately for him, a second dwarf chose that moment to join in the assault and Kili only just managed to get a second knife up in time to block the sword that swung directly at his stomach. Scrambling backwards he desperately defended himself as a third dwarf entered the skirmish, hoping he could get closer to a populated area where someone might hear and come to his aid. Ungainly and heavy, he was tiring quickly so frantically called out for help. A wild war cry sounded from behind him and suddenly Bifur came out of nowhere and flung himself into the fray, successfully taking out one of the dwarves with a swing of his spear before setting in on a second, leaving Kili to deal with the final one. Thankfully, Kili could hear more dwarves, one of which sounded like Bofur, coming up the stairs to support Bifur.

Then he made one stupid, stupid mistake. He dropped his guard just for a moment as relief at Bifur’s timely arrival flooded through him. Seeing this, the dwarf he was fighting pressed his attack, forcing Kili to step backwards to avoid the swing of his blade before Bofur intervened. What he had not realised is that he had got too close to the staircase and as he stepped back, he did so into thin air. 

For a moment the world seemed to hang on a precipice. It was as if he was floating in the air. Then gravity took it’s inevitable toll and he was falling. An unknown soldier at the top of the stairs reached for him but they were a fraction too late and their hands only brushed before he plummeted backwards. It was terrifying. Unlike a normal fall, he could not turn to brace himself with his arms because then he would land on his stomach. The only thing he could do was wrap them around his belly for protection, close his eyes and hope for the best. Accompanied by the horrified cries of the assembled on lookers he tumbled down the stairs, landing finally on his back with a painful crack of his skull against the stone floor.

Through his daze he heard the sound of running feet and then suddenly there was blurry faces in his view and lots of people shouting incomprehensible words at him and a loud buzzing in his ears. He couldn’t breathe as all the breath had been knocked out of his body and his lungs locked still. 

‘KILI! Move aside. Out of my way!’

Hurriedly the crowd parted as their King and Nori barrelled through.

A fuzzy version of his Uncle’s frantic face came into his line of sight and strong hands were on him. 

‘Kili! Are you alright? Kili, look at me’

At the reassuring sound of his Uncle’s voice, even if it did sound a bit anxious, his lungs released from their cramp and he could breathe again. Delicious cool air filled him and thankful he gasped for more. As his oxygen levels increased, his eyesight cleared and Thorin’s features sharpened into their normal state. 

‘Kili?’ 

Thorin’s voice sounded ever more worried. Hazily it occurred to Kili that he ought to answer and reassure him. Feeling oddly ponderous, his thoughts gathered as he tried to pull himself together.

‘Uncle, i’m alright, I’m alright. I think i’ve bumped my head’

The tight knot of worry on Thorin’s forehead loosened a little ass his nephew finally responded. Relieved he decided to take control of the situation. Looking up the stairs he saw that Bifur, Bofur and another soldier, Leif, if he remembered his name correctly, had apprehended the three attackers. One of which was very definitely dead if the fact that his head was sitting almost a foot away from his shoulders was any indication and the other two unconscious, if not also dead. Bofur was trying to calm Bifur from the murderous rage that had overtaken him and Leif was watching the prisoners. As King he really ought to leave Kili in the hands of Nori and deal with this himself but he couldn’t bring himself to leave his nephew. Picking a random dwarf out of the crowd he ordered them to go and find Oin before turning back to his nephew who was trying to lever himself up.

‘No Kili, you must stay still until Oin can check your back, Nori, put the attackers in the dungeon, get Gloin to guard them and then see if you can find out if there are anymore’

‘Yes, my King’

Distantly, Kili noticed the odd bruising and blood on Nori’s face but for the moment if passed through his mind without trouble. More important was the urge to stand up. He wasn’t safe here, there was danger and he really, really needed to stand up.

‘Uncle I want to get up’

‘No Kili, I know it’s uncomfortable but you must stay there. I will protect you’

Reassured, Kili lay back and placed a hand on his stomach. A sudden shot of fear went through him.

‘Uncle! The baby! Is the baby alright??’

Looking pained, Thorin hesitated just a moment.

‘I don’t know Kili, I’m sorry’

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So in a bit of a rush with this chapter so it's not as well checked as they would normally be. Let me know if you spot any errors!


	19. Chapter 19

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The time has come... in more ways than one.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sooo, this chapter turned out a bit darker then expected. Hope you all still enjoy though.

After Oin cleared his back, (‘Does it hurt when I press here?’ ‘Of course it hurts, you’re poking me!’), Kili was gingerly levered to his feet and escorted back to his room for a more thorough examination. Thorin wished to go with them with all his heart but his duty intervened. He had to deal with the attackers.

Thorin had been in another dull council about something or other, daydreaming happily about what courting gift he could get for Bilbo, when a bloody and dishevelled Nori burst in. After three days of absence, it was a relief to see his spymaster, even in such a state, (which reminded him, he really must find a way of rewarding Nori for his work once all this was over). The tale he carried had been less welcome. He had been caught by Dain’s agents and had only just escaped after being tortured. Luckily, he had overheard them discussing their plans while they thought he was unconscious and had freed himself as fast as possible to warn Thorin. Disbelief had been his first reaction. Attacking a pregnant dwarf, whether female or a bearer, went so fundamentally against the nature of dwarves that it was almost unthinkable that such a thing would occur, children being so few and so precious. He and his council had set off immediately to find Kili and finding his room abandoned, had been near panic when they heard that he had been seen on the lower levels. 

They had known for a long time that Dain would act but the possibility that it would be against Kili was the very worst-case scenario that their nightmares could dream up. Dain must be truly unhinged, and the attackers truly evil, to do such a thing. Not that he couldn’t see the twisted logic behind this plan. A king who couldn’t even protect a bearer in his own family was certainly not capable of protecting a whole kingdom of dwarves. Once again Dain had been trying to prove Thorin was unfit for the kingship. That much was clear, however how Dain thought to come out of this looking clean (and therefore the next viable candidate for the Throne) he could not figure out.

It also meant Thorin knew with gut clenching certainty, that there must have been a trap at the northern border for Fili. After all, there was no point getting rid of Thorin if Fili was still around. As soon as these traitors were dealt with, he was sending Gloin and his most trusted soldiers out to find Dwalin & Fili. Hopefully, they were still alive.

It was an even greater mystery where Dain had managed to rustle up Dwarves wicked enough to enact his plan. Thorin could not even contemplate what would drive them to do such a thing. Still, fools that they were, they had forgotten one vital fact. His nephew, pregnant or not, was a warrior from a line of warriors. One of the finest fighters in his company and the best bowman of all dwarves he would not be taken down easily and thank Mahal, once more, for Bifur. Kili was not supposed to go anywhere without the old dwarf and as soon as he was done with the villains he and his nephew would be Having Words.

First, however, justice must be done. Dwarven law was strict, attacking a bearer was one of the worst crimes a Dwarf could commit. The punishment was execution, a penalty only meted out for a very limited number of crimes. There was no arguing the case for these dwarves, they had been witnessed in the attack and so the sentence would be given. 

Dwarven law also required that punishments were fair and the application of the law done without cruelty. Which meant no torture (no matter how much Thorin wished to make them die slowly and painfully for what they had done) and that executions had to be done immediately after judgement had been made so that they did not have a terrifying wait for death. 

It also required that the King, and only the King, could perform the execution and be witnessed by the representatives of the people of Erebor, usually the Guild Leaders. Traditionally it was to stop Kings from going mad with power and ruling with fear. After all, it was rather harder to send your opponent to his death with a clear conscience if you were the one that actually had to do the killing. 

Arriving at the dungeons he spied Nori, who appeared to be enjoying terrifying the captives with tales of their impending doom, before turning and bowing at Thorin’s arrival.

‘eehh go on turncoat! Bow and scrape to your master like the puppy you are!’ 

A crash against the bars from the handle Gloin’s axe soon shut up the jeering prisoners. 

‘What are your names?’ Thorin demanded.

‘What’s it to you, imposter!’

‘You stand accused of attacking a pregnant dwarf, with intent to kill, the sentence for which is death. I am your King and I would have your names!’ 

‘Well you ‘aint going to get them! We don’t answer to mad Durins! That throne’s not yours to sit on!’

‘The smelly one on the left is Aki and the slimy one on the right is Bram’ 

Rolling his eyes, Nori answered for them, bringing fresh threats and taunts his way.

‘Well then, Aki and Bram, how do you answer the charges against you?’

‘We done nothing wrong! We just trying to rid Erebor of an imposter and his unnatural brat of a nephew. The world will see we were right! Just you wait, they will rise up against you, fraud that you are’

Spitting at the feet of the king before him, Bram finished his impassioned speech, despite the enraged blue eyes staring back at him.

‘So you admit to attempting to murder the bearer Kili and his child’

‘That abnormal monster deserved to die!’

‘I’ll take that as a yes then. Under whose orders did you commit such a deed?

‘Those of the true King! Lord D... ow! What was that for?’

Aki, silent and still until this point suddenly acted to silence his companion.

‘We’ll be answering no more of your questions, son of Thrain’

Thorin had reached the end of his patience. He had heard enough to prove that they had committed the crime of their own will and under the orders of his treacherous cousin. There was no more reason for delay.

‘Gloin, get the witnesses. Nori, get the block.’

Once the Guild Masters and members of his council were assembled he addressed them.

‘The dwarves you see before you, Aki and Bram, attacked the bearer, Kili, this afternoon. This was witnessed by a number of citizens of Erebor, some of you were among them, and they have confessed before me that they did this of their own free will. Therefore, as they are guilty of the crime laid at their feet, the punishment will be execution by my hand. Are there any objections?’

There was none.

Taking the axe handed to him by Gloin, he watched as a suddenly terrified and snivelling Bram was dragged to the block and made to kneel before it. 

‘May Mahal have mercy on your soul’

A quick swing of the axe and a thump marked his end. Aki came forward calmly. Standing tall, he addressed the dwarves of Erebor.

‘One day you will see the right of what we have done, when your halls once more are ruined by the madness of the Royal Line and your children torn asunder by their greed. Then you will see that Thorin, son of Thrain, was no true King’

That said, he knelt before the block and serenely place his head down.

‘May Mahal have mercy on your soul’

Unimpressed, Thorin dispatched him as quickly and efficiently as he had Bram. This duty was horrendous, something he wished never to repeat but it had to be done. Mahal pray he need never do it again.

As the witnesses departed and soldiers took the corpses for burial, Thorin strode off in search of his nephew while giving Gloin his new orders. Fili and Dwalin must return immediately, there was no question that the supposed incursion on the northern borders had been a diversion and he would have his heir and his friend here. If they were still alive, that is.  
Caught up in his thoughts he would have crashed headlong into the dwarrowdam standing in front of him if it hadn’t been for Gloin’s hand.

‘Lady Herdis, what is it?’

‘My Lord, Kili’s labour has started’

 

Xxxxxxxx

Kili had been halfway up to his room when the cramps began. Small and manageable at first he hadn’t mentioned them, unwilling to have Oin fuss at him in the middle of the corridors. It only felt like the baby was griping a bit about being bounced around and nothing more serious. His back was sore but Oin had declared it a bit of muscle strain and nothing more ominous.

By the time he reached his rooms, however, it was clear that something more serious was happening. The cramps had become larger and more regular. Breathing through the pain he informed Oin of the development. 

The next few minutes were a bewildering flurry of activity. Lady Herdis and Halla had been sent for and dwarves dispatched to fetch bag and potions and water and bandages and all sorts of assorted instruments. A brief examination confirmed the bad news. The labour had definitely started. A foul tasting potion was then forced down him in an attempt to get the contractions to stop but within half an hour it was apparent that it wasn’t working. 

‘Well my lad, it seems the baby is determined to come now, whether we like it or not. Lady Herdis, could you please inform the King. Halla, help me get him up, he needs to walk’

‘No.. wait? The baby can’t come now, it’s too early! He won’t survive!’

‘Now now, calm yourself Kili. The baby is coming and unfortunately, there is nothing we can do to stop it. I can tell you he probably will be able to live outside the womb. Babies have been born younger and survived it. What we need to worry about is you, so you must do everything I say. Now up with you! You must walk’

‘But Dwalin is not here!’

‘Nothing we can do about that now, my lad, you need to concentrate on you’

With that, he was hauled to his feet and frogmarched back and forward across the room. As time passed the contractions got longer and harder and more and more painful. Lady Herdis returned and re-entered the room after what sounded like a protracted argument with Thorin about why he wasn’t allowed in the birthing chamber. Aided by the two women he was changed into a birthing gown and given water as he continued walking. At first the pains were small and far apart. Easily manageable and it seemed to Kili that if this was what giving birth was like it wasn’t that bad really. Eight hours later his water broke with a gush between his legs and the labour started in earnest. Steadily the contractions got stronger and painful enough that he could no longer walk. Twelve hours passed, and as it became clear this might be a rather protracted affair he was allowed to briefly see his Uncle. 

A long and reassuring hug was the first thing exchanged.

Resting his forehead against the sweaty one of his nephew he breathed in the scent of his beloved Kili.

‘I have sent for Dwalin and Fili, they should be here in a few days’

Bracing himself through the next cramp against his Uncle he gasped.

‘A few days! He’s going to miss the birth’ 

‘I’m sorry Kili, it can’t be helped’

As he spoke he stroked as callused hand through his nephews hair, pushing straggling pieces back from his face.

A second strong cramp hit him. 

‘Bastard! Happy to be around for the fun bit but disappears for the difficult bit’

Huffing a laugh, Thorin defended Dwalin’s honour in his absence.

‘It wasn’t really his choice’

Another contraction hit. They were getting more and more frequent.

‘I don’t care, it’s still his fault. It’s all his fault’

‘That is not fair, Kili, be reasonable’

Behind him he saw Halla plant her face into her palm. It was the first clue he’d made an error.

‘BE REASONABLE! You try being reasonable with a baby tearing its way out of you and a disappearing husband! In fact, if you had been reasonable he would be here!’

Forcefully squashing his Uncle’s hand he panted through the next contraction.

‘Ooowww, that one really hurt’

Slightly panicked and with the bones in his hand grating painfully together Thorin sought to appease his nephew.

‘I didn’t realise you labour would start so soon. I would never have sent him if i’d have known. He’ll be back soon’

‘But I need him here now! My back hurts and I need a rub’

‘I’m sure one of us could give you a back rub if you wish’

‘It wouldn’t be as good as his’

Just then, another contraction hit and once more Thorin’s hand was compressed in Kili’s vice like grip.

‘Oh God, this hurts. He’s never touching me again!’

‘That would make it rather hard for him to give you a back rub’ Thorin replied without thinking, trying to extract his poor hand from Kili’s hold.

At this point Oin decided that he had best remove the King from the room before he was murdered by his nephew for his stupidity. Honestly, you would have thought experience of Dis’s births would have given Thorin some clues on how to act.

A more thorough examination could now take place without Thorin around to see and what he found really concerned the old healer. The baby was breech. Maybe it was the early onset of the labour but the child had not turned in the womb and was still head up. It was a complication that they really didn’t need at this point.

After another ten hours passed with little progress Oin started to get a rather worried. The birth should be much further along by now, even accounting for the fact that Kili was a bearer and this was his first birth. What’s more, Kili was tiring. He hadn’t yet begun to push but the pain and lack of sleep had worn him down and Oin anxious that when the time came he might not have the strength to birth the baby. His fixation on Dwalin not being present continued through the hours. Often he curse him when he was in pain, threatening him with all sorts of painful consequences is he even came within 10 foot of him with his penis, yet constantly he wished for his presence.

Concerned but unable to do anything further Oin continued to monitor Kili’s failing strength anxiously as the hours ticked by.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so I know that falling in late stage pregnancy can't really induce labour but this is my story and it fits, so i'm sticking with it :-)


	20. Chapter 20

By the third day, Kili was in serious trouble. He was so exhausted he was falling asleep between contractions. Pale and covered in sweat he still fitfully tried to call for his husband. 

Oin wiped the seat from his brow and stepped back from the birthing bed. It was time to let them know. It was his duty as a healer, however painful this was. Stepping into the anti-chamber he looked into the worn out face of his King, whose blue eyes darkened with the knowledge of the upcoming loss as soon as they met his. 

‘The baby is still breached and I cannot get him turned. The labour goes too long, my lord. You will have to make a decision, either I cut the baby out of the womb and save the child or I cut the baby up inside and save the mother. You are the most senior of his kin in the absence of his husband. I will leave you an hour to make your choice, I am sorry’

‘Does Kili realise?’

‘I think not my lord, he is at the end of his strength and is no longer fully aware of what is happening’

‘There is nothing else that can be done?’

‘Not that I know of my Liege’

‘Thank you for your work, Oin, I will think on what you have said’

Thus dismissed, Oin returned to the birthing room.

Thorin dropped into the chair before the fire and buried his head in his hands. What have I done that was so grievous that Mahal seeks constantly to take my loved ones from me? 

What was he going to do? Kili would never forgive him for not choosing the child but at the same time he simply couldn’t face losing his nephew. The child was precious, dwarven tradition would have him choose the child but this would mean the loss of his beloved little Kili.

Selfishly he wished Dwalin were here to take the burden of making this decision but he was still half a day away. Even then it would be wrong for him to abdicate his duty in such a way, Dwalin may have had the eventual choice but Thorin knew he would have sought his opinion in making it. Though it would possibly be an even harder decision for him then for Thorin as it was a decision between the child he had always wanted and the dwarf that was his One, and Fili...

Fili would want Kili to live. That much was certain. The bond between the two of them was so strong there could be no other choice for him. He would understand, eventually, if Thorin chose the child but even then, he would never forgive Thorin for not having the chance to say goodbye. If he still lived that is. There was still no word from Gloin on whether they had been found alive. 

Thorin had long ago run out of tears but that night they felt perilously close. After all the stress of the last few days, the attack, the executions and Kili going into labour so early strained even one used to such pressure. 

Distantly he heard the door open and shut then quiet feet padding forward. A small hand gently stroked through his hair. 

‘Thorin, what news?’

Wordlessly he gathered the hobbit into his arms and buried his head into Bilbo’s shoulder, inhaling he scent of his loved one, before whispering the dark news.

‘Oin says there is no hope to save them both. He knows nothing more that could help them. I must choose between the child and Kili. Bilbo... everything says I should save the child but to lose Kili...’

In a rare moment of weakness, he quietly admitted into Bilbo’s waistcoat,

‘I know not what to do’

Bilbo hugged him close into his arms, resting his head against the top of Thorin’s, grieving that such a decision had to be made. He didn’t know what to say to make this any better. This never really happened with hobbits, who had children to easily yet dwarf children were so few..

‘So few...and Oin...Thorin, that’s it! You say Dwarves are not that experienced birthing babes as they have so few, but Human’s have many. Maybe they may know another way.’

‘What?’ Thorin’s exhausted brain struggled to keep up with the Hobbits rapid speech.

‘Men have lots of children, Thorin, they must know more about what to do if it goes wrong, send to Bard for aid’

‘By Mahal you may be right, they must have women who help with their births....but they do not have bearers, it’s different then with women, they will not have seen this before’

‘It’s still worth a shot, Thorin, send to Bard and have him send the best of his women as quickly as possible, we may still have time’

Thorin took a deep breath and briefly rested his forehead against Bilbo’s. 

‘Very well, my love, send Bofur down to the Dale, tell him to go as fast as he can and thank you, I don’t know what I would do without you’ 

‘Of course, my love’

Before rushing off to find Bofur, Bilbo took hold of Thorin’s mussed braids and pulled his head down for a soft kiss. 

‘There is still hope, Thorin, don’t give up yet’

Xxxxxxxxxxxxx

 

The pain seemed unending. Waves upon waves of agony coursed through him unrelentingly. He was utterly exhausted. If only they would stop for just five minutes he might be able to get his breath back but they just kept coming. Even through the haze of pain and fatigue, Kili was conscious enough to realise that something was going very badly wrong, that the birth shouldn’t have taken this long or have been this difficult. With every additional contraction he could feel his strength sapping away. 

It hurt, oh did it hurt.

He desperately wanted Dwalin here. Dwalin could give him the strength to get through this. He had enough to share. His husband was strong enough for the two of them. Even if Kili still could not manage, he knew Dwalin would decide to do the right thing and save the baby. He wasn’t so sure his Uncle would not choose to save him instead. 

More painful than the contractions was the horrible realisation that he would never get to tell Dwalin he loved him too. In between calling for Dwalin he cursed himself for being so oblivious as to not recognize it earlier. After all, he craved his company when he was away, sought him out when he was happy, cried on his shoulder when upset and relied on him for everything. The only other person he allowed himself to be so vulnerable around was Fili. Now for the first time he knew he’d been blind. Dwalin was his One. 

He hoped he’d at least get to say goodbye. 

A large hand cupped his chin and a familiar voice called his name. Opening his eyes he saw his Uncle’s face swim into view. 

Odd, he thought. Uncle’s not supposed to be in here.

‘Kili, can you hear me?’

‘hmmm ... Uncle? Am so tired’

‘I know, Kili, but you must keep fighting’

‘Where’s Dwalin?’

‘He’ll be here soon. It’ll be alright’

A sudden surge of energy seemed to come upon him and desperately he grasped the front of his Uncle’s shirt.

‘If it’s not alright promise me. Promise me you’ll save the baby. Swear it’

‘Kili...’

‘Swear it! It is my wish’

Looking a decade older than he had done only a few days ago, Thorin conceded.

‘Very well, If it comes to that, I so swear’

‘Good....thank you’

Abruptly the energy drained from him and once more he slid back onto the drenched pillows, eyes sliding closed.

‘Uncle... where is Dwalin?’

Tears gathering in his eyes, he leant forward and kissed his nephews forehead.

‘He’ll be here soon.’

Xxxxx

The help from Lord Bard came swiftly. A roundish, sturdy looking women who called herself by the odd title of ‘midwife’ and her assistant arrived at the front gates with surprising speed and were quickly shown up to the royal chambers. To say she was a bit shocked at what she was confronted with was an understatement but a steadying breath she proceeded to take command of the situation with military efficiency. 

Once more Thorin found himself staring at the closed door after being forcefully ejected from the room. Even for a king used to fighting monsters there had been no arguing with this formidable women. Last he saw, before the door swung shut on his face, she had been deep in conference with Oin.

Thorin liked her.

Not more than half an hour later the door from the main corridor violently swung open, slamming with bang against the far wall. What at first appeared to be a monster strode through hurriedly as Thorin reached for his sword. 

‘Thorin! Where is he? Where is Kili and where is my baby?’

It was Dwalin. Covered in muck from head to foot he looked utterly exhausted. Fili appeared from behind him in a similar state and a part of the grief in Thorin’s heart vanished. Running forward he caught his heir up in a bear hug, squeezing the breath from his lungs, uncaring of the filth that now covered him also.

Fili didn’t have much time to recover before he copped a resounding blow to the head, courtesy of his Uncle.

‘Ow! What was that for?’

‘You should have sent word! You had ravens. I’ve been thinking you dead!’

With that, he was pulled into another suffocating hug. Confused he looked a Dwalin for aid. Yet no help was forthcoming from the distracted dwarf.

‘Thorin, where is Kili?’

Prizing himself away from his nephew he turned to face Dwalin and deliver the bad news. 

‘Dwalin, Kili is in labour and has been for a few days, it’s.... not going well’

A rather pale Dwalin reeled backwards before forcibly gripping the king shoulders.

‘Where. Is. He?’

‘In there.. but Dwalin..’

It was too late. As soon as he had indicated the room, Dwalin had set off with Fili in quick pursuit. A very loud high-pitched squawking was then heard before Dwalin suddenly reappeared as if propelled backwards out of the room squashing Fili behind him. 

‘...and don’t come back until you’re clean!’

A moments silence fell as the door thumped shut.

‘What was that?’ exclaimed Dwalin in an awed voice. 

‘The human women who is helping with the birth. You might want to go get changed’

‘Yes, right’

As quickly as he had appeared he was gone again for the fastest wash and change a dwarf had ever managed.

Xxxxx

Dwalin could guarantee that he had never once fainted but the world went a rather grey and he swayed on his feet when he was finally admitted into the birthing chamber. The sight was horrifying to say the least. Kili, his beloved Kili lay on the bed in the centre of the room. If it wasn’t for the intermittent cramps and their accompanying whimpers of pain he would have thought he was looking at a corpse so exhausted and pale did he look. It didn’t help that Thorin had filled him in on the full extent of the problem and the decision that might have to be made.

The end of the bed was a hive of activity as these two large humans and Oin worked frantically to bring the child into the world. Steeling himself against the rising nausea and utter panic, he crossed over and knelt at the head of the bed, pulling Kili’s hand into his own and pressing a kiss to the knuckles.

‘Dwalin?’

Kili’s voice sounded husky. As if he’d worn it out with screaming.

‘Kili, oh my beautiful Kili. You look so tired’

‘You’re here, i’m so glad you’re here’

‘I know. I’m sorry but i’m here now’

Gently he leant forward and touched his forehead to Kili’s, feeling the cold clammy skin trembling beneath his before his spouse spoke.

‘I’ve got to tell you something’

‘Anything’

‘I was stupid’

‘You’re not stupid’

‘Sush, don’t interrupt s’rude’

‘Sorry’

‘I didn’t realise’

‘Didn’t realise what?’

Just as Kili was about to answer there was a bit of a jolt, Kili cried out in pain, and his hand clamped around Dwalin’s.

‘I’m sorry my dear, almost there’

With a gasp, he dropped back against the pillow and leant against his husbands arm, sweat dripping from his forehead.

‘Dwalin, i’m so tired’

‘I know, but you have to hold on a bit longer’

‘I can’t! It hurts too much’

‘You can, i’ll help you’

There was no answer. 

‘What was it you realised?’

‘What?’

‘You said a minute ago you’d realised something. What was it?’

‘Oh that. I heard you, you know’

‘Heard me? When?’

‘Before you left, when you thought I was asleep’

For a moment Dwalin had absolutely no idea what he was referring too. Frantically casting his mind back, he suddenly realised what it might have been. His heart dropped like a stone. Kili wasn’t suppose to know. Before he could gather his thoughts Kili spoke once more.

‘but it’s alright. I realised that I love you. You’re my One too’ 

Dwalin at this point was absolutely reeling. His mind was a fog of astonishment, unable to process being handed something he wanted so much just as it might be taken away. 

Once more they were interrupted by another jolt and cry from Kili. 

‘Aha! Got you, you little bugger. Now my dear, a few good pushes and we should be done’

Still panting from the last stab of pain Kili couldn’t believe that there was more to come. He couldn’t do it, he just couldn’t. He had nothing left.

‘I can’t!’

‘Come on Kili! Are you a warrior or aren’t you? You can fight this’

Suddenly absolutely infuriated, Kili grabbed the front of Dwalin’s coat and hauled him closer before exclaiming angrily,

‘You try doing this! See how much you’d manage!’

The anger had served its purpose giving him the energy to push with a scream.

‘Very good! One more!’

A shriek filled the air and two bones in Dwalin’s hand were broken as his child was finally born. 

Gasping, Kili collapsed onto his husband. Relief and utter exhaustion running through him as he saw the humans cut the umbilical cord. There was a moment of terrifying silence before the sound of a loud slap swiftly followed by a very indignant, and very piercing wail.

‘A fine boy, my lord’ 

A wet, wriggling baby was plonked down on Kili’s chest. He spent a moment flailing before his arms, aided by Dwalin, came up to cradle his new son. 

‘Hello’

The wails lessened a bit as the babies eyes opened at the sound of its mother. Brown eyes met brown eyes and it was love at first sight. Apart from when he realised he loved Dwalin he had never felt anything like it. He was beautiful and had ten perfect fingers and ten prefect toes. Kili was so happy it was unbelievable. However, to his astonishment there was a ripple of another contraction.

‘What? Why hasn’t it stopped?’

‘It’s alright dear, it’s just the after birth. You may feel a few more’

Reassured his attention went back to his baby who was nuzzling against him as if he was trying to suckle. Lady Herdis’s hand came down on his shoulder.

‘You can feed him, here let me show you’

Before he knew it, Kili was gazing down in awe as the baby drank for the first time. Dwalin was equally amazed and had barely breathed since the baby appeared but when Kili looked at him, he smiled back and leant forward for a kiss. 

Pulling himself together, Dwalin turned to the small team who had seen his Kili through this ordeal.

‘My thanks to you for the safe delivery of my child and husband. I am ever at your service’

Bowing slightly from his seated position, as he straightened he caught sight of something very disturbing.

‘Is there supposed to be that much blood?’

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Evili author is evil! Cliffhangers are so much fun..


	21. Chapter 21

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Wherein we find out what happened to Kili

He was so beautiful. His son. His little boy was perfect. With his black hair, big brown eyes like Kili’s and large ears that were rather unfortunately just like his own. 

For so many years he’d been annoyed by Gloin’s bragging about the amazing handsomeness and astonishing exploits of his Gimli and now he knew exactly how he felt. Not that Gimli could be anywhere near as good as Dwalin’s son, fine lad though he was. 

Dwalin could quite happily just stare at him for hours.

Odin. They’d decided on that name in the end as the little one had come out into the world fighting, stubbornly being born backwards despite all attempts to turn him and giving the midwife a resounding kick on the way. Dwalin had been so proud. It had been a bit startling that he’d come out arse first but apparently that was what had caused all the problems. According to the midwife (wonder that she was) the head had been stuck and that had caused all the problems. Dwalin really didn’t want to know, so hadn’t asked, how she’d managed to get it unstuck. With some things it was best remain in ignorance.

He was so small, it barely seemed possible he’d caused so much trouble. His head fit easily within Dwalin’s big hand and Odin seemed so delicate at first that he’d been absolutely terrified of hurting him and had handled him like he had been made of glass.

Lying in the finest crib in Erebor and swathed in the softest furs and velvets, little Odin began to wake up. A mighty yawn, which seemed to swallow half his head, was followed by a grizzling noise and two little hands waving about demandingly. Reaching down, Dwalin gently plucked him up and held him against his chest, murmuring comfortingly.

‘What’s the matter little gem, hmm?’

The grizzling began to turn into a wail and a tiny fist thumped into his chest. 

‘You don’t need changing, you can’t be tired after sleeping for 5 hours. Are you hungry my lad? Growing boys need lots of food, don’t they?’

The wail got louder and the small hands grasped hold of Dwalin’s beard and Yanked with astonishing strength.

‘Ow, ow, ow, i’ll take that as a yes. Let go of daddy’s beard Odin’

No matter how much he tried, he could not get Odin to release the hair caught painfully in his grasp. 

He’s so strong already, he thought soppily. He’s going to be a mighty warrior when he grows up. Probably stronger even than Dori.

Knowing that if Odin didn’t get food soon after he indicated that he wanted it the wail would become an ear-splitting scream, Dwalin gave up on freeing himself and started off towards the sitting room where the food was located. 

Kili looked up as they entered. Dismissing the hovering secretary with a wave and a kind word, he smiled up at his husband.

‘Is he hungry?’

‘I think so’

Accepting the small burden from Dwalin and detangling the fist from his husband’s beard, Kili pulled down his top and guided Odin to his nipple with practiced ease. He’d been uncomfortable at first with breast feeding, embarrassed by the almost feminine small swelling under his nipple, especially as Dwalin was so determined on watching him. However, like changing nappies he’d got used to it and even come to enjoy the intimate time with his baby. 

As Odin continued to suckle, Dwalin leant down for a kiss. Kili looked so handsome with the child that he couldn’t resist. It was soft and loving and said everything they couldn’t verbalise. They’d been rather tentative with each other ever since the labour induced confessions of love. Slowly, however, the awkwardness began to fade away and their relationship began to strengthen. 

‘What are you working on?’

‘The trade agreement with Stonehelm, I’m going to have to take a break. All the words are starting to blur into one and I don’t think I can stand many more ‘wherefores’ and ‘the aforementioneds’ without going as batty as Radagast’

‘Alright, we’ll have some dinner. Will it be done in time? The poor lad might fret himself to death without it’

‘Don’t be so mean Dwalin! And yes, it will be done in time’

The Stonehelm Kili had referred to was Dain’s son, Thorin Stonehelm. The emissaries Thorin had sent to the Iron Hills to demand retribution for Dain’s actions had reported back that he had been overthrown by his own son, who had been absolutely horrified at what his father had done. Not that he didn’t believe it, of course. He had, after all, lead the coup against his own father because of the horrors he was perpetrating against his own people but he’d never imagined that his father would go that far. He’d been so upset at the thought he’d practically prostrated himself before the King and begged for forgiveness. His father was safely locked away where he could never harm another, he promised. 

His sister, Drifa, had been offered up as a sacrifice to heal the gaping wound left by Dain and after consulting deeply with Fili Thorin had agreed to the match. Her wedding to Fili was to be held in the next summer. It was a pity that Fili had not had the chance to find his own love match but he had agreed freely and seemed perfectly content with the situation. Reportedly, Stonehelm had almost keeled over with relief when he had received the acceptance.

Poor lad, Dwalin thought. It can’t have been easy having such a father and having to take on such responsibility at such a young age. Stonehelm was a year younger than Kili and yet he was now Lord of the Iron Hills and had to clean up the mess his father had made. Suffice it to say he was in a bit over his head and, once forgiven, had been bombarding Thorin with requests for help, advice and agreements. The poor ravens had become so exhausted, and Thorin so fed up, that Balin had been despatched to help the young lad out. 

Dwalin missed his brother but didn’t begrudge him the chance to be a true lord of the dwarves, even if it was by proxy. Though completely loyal to Thorin he’d always chaffed a bit at not being a Lord in his own right under the King like Dain, especially as they were of almost equal lineage to the Lord of the Iron Hills. 

Once Odin had taken his fill and Kili moved to cover himself up, Dwalin realised that once again he’d been mindlessly staring at the baby. It was as if he’d been hypnotised and from the indulgent smile on Kili’s face he’d been rather obvious about it as well. 

‘I was thinking we could have dinner down in the great hall with the others. I’m so tired of being cooped up in here’

‘Are you sure you can manage that far? Won’t you be too sore?’

Kili’s indulgent gaze turned exasperated. 

‘It’s been weeks Dwalin! I’m fine and you can’t keep cosseting me forever’

‘Maybe another week. We’ll get some advice from Oin and then we’ll see about you moving about more’

‘Dwalin. I am going down to dinner in the hall whether you like it or not. You can either help me down there or watch as I go down by myself. The choice it yours!’

Unhappy but unable to come up with an excuse that wouldn’t end up with something heavy being thrown at him Dwalin reluctantly gave in.

‘Alright, but we’ll go slowly’

‘If you want’

‘and you’ll tell me as soon as you start getting tired?’

‘Yes fine, can we go now?’

Without waiting for answer, Kili rose and went towards the bedroom to retrieve Odin’s travel basket. 

They set of in uncomfortable silence down the steep staircases and long corridors, their silent shadow following them as usual. Eventually Dwalin couldn’t stand the stifling quiet.

‘I’m just trying to make sure you heal properly’

A small sigh emanated from the dwarf by his side.

‘I realise that Dwalin. I know I gave you a bit of a fright but i’m better now, I really am, and i’m going stir crazy locked away in our rooms. I love that you wish to protect me so but you’ve got to stop trying to wrap me in cotton wool.’

‘You almost died’

‘Almost being the main word, Dwalin. Even Mistress Elswyth agrees that i’m alright to be moving around more. The bleeding was not that serious. It was just a tear and it has healed.’

Mistress Elswyth, the midwife who had helped them with the birth so well, was not the sort of person you could contradict. If she said Kili was ready, then he was ready but Dwalin still had his qualms. The horrid scenes from after the birth were permanently imprinted in his mind. Kili, the light of his life, lying on those white sheets with bright red blood steadily spreading in a pool around him as the midwife and Oin worked frantically to stop the bleeding. Dwalin had never felt so panicked or so helpless in his life. ‘A bit of a fright’ didn’t even begin to cover the emotions he had experienced.

Since then he had guarded over his love like a she-wolf protecting its young. Kili had been kept confined to their rooms while he healed and Dwalin had been looking after him, ably helped by the indomitable Mistress Elswyth. The two terrifying beings had been united in their quest to make Kili well. The poor lad hadn’t stood a chance against the joined forces. Not that he’d objected much at first, being too tired and too sore to do much apart from sleep. When he’d started to feel better he’d begun to object to the strictures laid down by his gaolers. They’d had many a fight over the restrictions imposed and Dwalin had subsequently become very skilled at dodging paperweights flying at his head. Eventually Kili’s stubbornness got the upper hand in the arguments and Dwalin had allowed him to start working from their sitting room. 

Kili was always going to win in the end. Dwalin found it very difficult to deny him anything he wanted and he really didn’t like Kili being angry with him. Much like he was now, if the set of his shoulders and the lack of his usual smile was anything to go by. The silence lengthened as Dwalin tried to figure out how to communicate his worries with digging himself into a hole. 

‘I could not bear it if you were hurt again but I do not want you to be unhappy.’

‘Then you have to give me a bit more freedom. Locking me away is not helping anyone. Besides with Bifur still following me around how could I possibly get hurt’ Kili said, indicating the dark haired dwarf trailing behind them. 

‘Alright, if you are careful’

A very welcome smile crept back onto Kili’s face.

‘I will be, I promise’

It was such a relief when he felt Kili’s free hand slip into his. 

‘Forgive me? I only wished to protect you’

‘Of course. I do love you, Dwalin. Even if you are even more of a fusspot than Dori’

Huffing in reluctant amused agreement he tugged Kili closer so he could swing an arm over his shoulders as Kili’s came up to wrap around his waist. They walked for a while longer but this time the tension had broken and the silence was easy and comfortable. 

‘Oh, I meant to mention to you earlier. I was looking through our household accounts this morning and noticed you’ve placed a rather large order for fabric. What is it for?’

‘Handkerchiefs’

‘Handkerchiefs? There was enough cloth there to make thousands of handkerchiefs. Who are they for?’

‘For Bilbo’

Seeing his spouse still looked completely perplexed Dwalin had to explain further.

‘For thinking of bringing in the midwife. It saved you’

‘So you’re giving him some as a gift?’

‘Not just some. A whole mountain of handkerchiefs.’

‘and you think he will like this?’

‘Of course! Do you not remember what he was like when he realised he’d left his behind?’

‘How could I forget? The look on Uncles face was priceless’

Laughing together, accompanied by the happy gurgles of their son, Dwalin and his family entered the great hall to cries of welcome and cheers from their friends. Life was good.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> SO this is it peeps. The last proper chapter. Only the epilogue remains and that has been written for a while so only needs a few tweeks before it can be posted. Sad stuff :-(
> 
> So I thought i'd ask your opinion on what story you'd like next, as i've a few bumbling around in my head.
> 
> 1) The Bifur story  
> 2) Dwalin/Kili arranged marriage AU - where Kili is not a Durin  
> 3) Dwalin/Kili arranged marriage - response to this prompt: http://hobbit-kink.livejournal.com/1990.html?thread=1118406#t1118406  
> 4) Something else (suggestions welcome)
> 
> I wont have much time to write in the next month cause of exams and stuff so votes on which one would be very welcome.


	22. Chapter 22

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> and here it is! the epilogue! I hope you enjoy! 
> 
> I'd also like to point to this absolutly amazing fanart i found on tumblr of Kili with a baby. Seriously amazing stuff (it wasnt me - i cant draw) but you definitly have to check it out cause it's immense:
> 
> http://ladykili-daughterofdis.tumblr.com/image/49682257656

Fili couldn’t remember ever being so exhausted or in so much pain. With his strength failing he flung himself desperately towards salvation. There were so many stairs left to go and they were trying to hold him back. He could feel them holding on to his legs, dragging his arms down and even pulling on his hair. Drenched in all sorts of disgusting substances and littered with wounds, it would only take one more blow to fell this mighty warrior. 

He really wouldn’t last much longer.

A final gasp of effort and he reached The Doorway. Thank Mahal, he was saved!

‘KILI!!! Come, retrieve your devils spawn and relieve me of my torment! I have suffered enough!’

Kili didn’t even try to contain his laughter. His poor brother, always so meticulous in his grooming, looked an absolute state. He was covered in what looked like a combination of stone dust, mud and that particularly sticky snot that only children were capable of producing. He had a multitude of small scratches like he’d been dragged through a bush backwards and the beginnings of what looked like it would be a rather impressive black eye. 

Three of Kili’s four children hung from various parts of his anatomy. His eldest boy, Odin, clung to his favourite Uncle’s hand trying to drag him back out to play while his younger brother, Erlend, had a death grip on his left boot. His daughter, little Edda, sat atop her Uncle’s shoulders using his now horrendously tangled and slightly red tinted braids (was that jam?) like reins to turn Fili’s head as she wished.

It was a rather sorry sight. One Kili was going to treasure for a long time to come. His children had been a constant source of joy for him and he loved them more then he could say. Having Odin had been terrifying at first but, contrary to common belief before he was born, Kili made a very good mother despite his youth. It had seemed to come so naturally to him. 

Due to the difficulties he’d had with the birth it had been believed that he may never have more children, something that had saddened him immensely but five years later he’d found out to his shock that he’d conceived once more. Thankfully, that time the birth had gone a lot easier, arriving on time and in the right way. Since then he’d proved himself remarkably fertile, having two more children in quick succession. 

Thorin had been very proud, strutting around court showing off his grand-nephews like he was their father. He absolutely doted on them and spoiled them rotten. With the worries of providing for a whole race of dwarves without a home now reduced to only managing Erebor he’d reverted back into the warm and loving Uncle they remembered from the sunnier parts of their own childhood and many a serious council had been interrupted by ‘UNCLE THORIN! Come and play!’. The children loved their great-uncle and his husband Bilbo. Hobbits had so many children it was almost impossible for them to not know how to handle them properly. With his cakes and wild stories he’d swiftly become a favourite with all the children in Erebor (there was now rather a lot, Kili had kicked off something of a baby boom) and, much to everyone’s horror, had got them all addicted to tea.

Fili hadn’t been so impressed of course. Though he was thankful to be free of the obligation of continuing the line, especially as he wasn’t very natural with children himself, he’d struggled with loosing even more of his brothers attention to these new intruders in their lives. His own marriage to Dain’s daughter had been a blessing in disguise. Despite the odd start the couple had come to love each other and it had put his relationship with Kili on a more even keel. He’d even started to occasionally offer to look after the children to give Kili and Dwalin a break, even if it usually ended with him exhausted and filthy and Kili laughing at him. Despite his grumbles he was willing to put up with it to make Kili happy. 

It couldn’t last though. Kili was a merciful dwarf at heart and swiftly packed his rambunctious brood of to bed while Fili collapsed in an armchair, as if even sitting down properly was now beyond him. 

‘Have fun?’ was Dwalin’s amused comment. 

It drew a much weakened glare from the chairs new occupant. As Kili re-entered the room Fili pleaded with a note of desperation, ‘Please, please tell me you are planning on never having anymore children, I’m begging you, no more.’ 

Over his head Dwalin and Kili shared the sort of smile that held an amusing secret. 

Fili caught sight of this and just groaned. He sunk even lower in the chair muttering something about randy brothers that desperately needed sterilising.

Kili just laughed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, havn't really got a definite conclusion on what story peeps would like to see next. Pretty much an even spread of votes so i'll leave it open a while longer and see what happens.
> 
> Also: Aidan Turner with a baby http://royal-nephews.tumblr.com/post/41142033598/latb-angela-aidan-turner-with-a-baby-aidan
> 
> \- so cute!


End file.
